C/EDES COLIGNII ET SOCIORUM EJUS. 
 
 T1IK MASHACRK IN I'AHIK. 
 
 From the Picture in the Vatican by Vasari.
 
 THE 
 
 PRECEDED BY A 
 
 HISTORY OF THE RELIGIOUS WARS IN THE 
 REIGN OF CHARLES IX. 
 
 BY HENRY WHITE. 
 
 WITH 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 
 
 FRANKLIN SQUARE. 
 
 1868.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IN" the following pages I have endeavored to describe 
 the great struggle which devastated France in the latter 
 half of the sixteenth century, and culminated in the mem- 
 orable tragedy of St. Bartholomew's Day. The nature of 
 that struggle can not be fairly understood, unless the con- 
 dition of the Protestants under Francis I. and his two im- 
 mediate successors be taken into consideration. In those 
 fiery times of trial the Huguenot character was formed, 
 and the nation gradually separated into two parties, so 
 fanatically hostile, that the extermination of the weaker 
 seemed the only possible means of re-establishing the unity 
 of France. 
 
 * 
 
 The three preliminary chapters necessarily contain many 
 notices of the cruel persecutions which the Eeformers had 
 to suffer at the hands of the dominant Church ; but the 
 author would be much grieved were it supposed that he 
 had written those chapters with any desire to rekindle the 
 dying embers of religious strife. On that portion of his 
 work he dwells with pain and regret ; but such pages of 
 history contain warnings that it may be well to repeat from 
 time to time. Though there may be little danger of our 
 drifting back to the atrocities of the sixteenth century, and
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 though we no longer burn men, mob-law and other forms 
 of terrorism are still employed to stifle free discussion, and 
 check individual liberty. From this to the prison, the 
 rack, and the stake, the step is not so wide as it appears. 
 Moreover, it is good to revive occasionally the memory of 
 those who have " served God in the fire," for the instruc- 
 tion of their descendants, who have the good fortune to 
 live in times when they can " honor God in the sunshine." 
 Such examples of patience and firmness under torture, of 
 self-devotion, of child-like reliance on the spiritual prom- 
 ises of their Divine Master, of obedience to conscience, and 
 of faithfulness to duty, are fruitful for all ages. They 
 serve to show not only that persecution is a mistake, but 
 that the final victory is not with the successful persecutor. 
 Man's real strength consists in prudence and foresight 
 qualities which belong but to few; and if this small intelli- 
 gent class (and such the early Keformers were, even by the 
 confession of their enemies) be driven out or exterminated, 
 the ignorant masses are lost. Spain and Itaty have never 
 recovered from the self-inflicted wounds of the sixteenth 
 century ; and if France has suffered in a less degree, it is 
 because persecution did not so completely succeed in de- 
 stroying freedom of thought and liberty of conscience. 
 
 The author has tried to write impartially : he has weigh- 
 ed conflicting evidence carefully, and has never willingly 
 allowed prejudices to direct his judgment. That he has 
 succeeded in holding the balance even, is more than he can 
 venture to hope ; but in such a cause there is consolation 
 even in failure. If he has not painted the unscrupulous 
 Catherine de Medicis and the half-insane Charles in such 
 dark colors as preceding writers, he has carefully abstain-
 
 PREFACE. Vii 
 
 ed from whitewashing them. He has shown that they 
 both possessed many estimable qualities, and has carefully 
 marked the steps by which they attained such an eminence 
 in evil.* 
 
 In the earlier pages of this history the followers of the 
 new creed in France are called indifferently Protestants or 
 Huguenots. The use of the former word is not strictly 
 correct ; but it is preferable to the awkward term " Ee- 
 formed," by which the French Dissenters designate them- 
 selves. By their enemies they were usually denominated 
 Calvinists a term which I have generally avoided on ac- 
 count of the erroneous ideas connected with it among ordi- 
 nary readers. In the present day it is seldom used with- 
 out a sneer. With all the complacency of ignorance, men 
 write of "grim Calvinists who justify the burning ofSer- 
 vetus." Calvinists, grim or otherwise, do not justify perse- 
 cution ; and as regards Servetus, his execution was ap- 
 proved of by all the Protestant divines of Germany and 
 Switzerland, and Calvin was perhaps the only man who 
 tried to save the arch-heretic's life. Whatever may have 
 been the errors of the Eeformer of Geneva, he was one of 
 the greatest men of his day, and as an author he stands in 
 the first rank of early French prose-writers. Englishmen 
 who owe so many of their liberties to the influence of his 
 opinions during the counter-reformation of the seventeenth 
 
 * In judging these and other great historical criminals, we must bear in 
 mind the age in which they lived. To borrow the language of Mr. Hep- 
 worth Dixon in his eloquent vindication of Lord Bacon : " The cry of 
 pain, the gasp of death, were no such shocks to the gentle heart as they 
 would be in a softer time. Men had been hardened in the [martyrs'] fire. 
 Minds were infected by the atrocities of [Huguenot] plots. The ballads 
 sung in the streets were steeped in blood." In such times of frenzy even 
 the merciful become cruel.
 
 Vlil PREFACE. 
 
 century, should be the last people to look unkindly upon 
 his failings. 
 
 Respecting the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, there are 
 two theories. Some writers contend that it was the result 
 of a long premeditated plot, and this view was so ably 
 maintained by John Allen in the Edinburgh Review (vol. 
 xliv. 1826), that nothing farther was left to be said on the 
 subject. Others are of opinion that it was the accidental 
 result of a momentary spasm of mingled terror and fanati- 
 cism caused by the unsuccessful attempt to murder Coligny. 
 This theory has been supported by Ranke in a review of 
 Capefigue's " Histoire de la Reforme," printed in the second 
 volume of his " Historisch-politische Zeitschrift " (1836), 
 and in the first volume of his " Franzosische Geschichte ;" 
 by Soldan in his " Frankreich. und die Bartholomaus- 
 Nacht ;" by Baum in his " Leben Beza's ;" and by Coquerel 
 in the "Revue Theologique" in 1859. Since they wrote, 
 many new materials tending to confirm their views have 
 come to light, some of which are for the first time noticed 
 in this volume. 
 
 Foremost in value among the materials for this portion 
 of the French history are the extracts from the "Simancas 
 Archives," published by M. Gachard in the " Correspond- 
 ance de Philippe II." The letters of Catherine de Medicis 
 (as published by Alberi) throw a new light upon some of 
 the obscurer parts of the reign of Charles IX. ; and though 
 it would be unwise to trust them implicitly, I can scarcely 
 imagine a more valuable contribution to French history 
 than a complete collection of her correspondence. Her 
 letters are scattered all over France : a few have been 
 printed in local histories, but far the greater part of them
 
 PREFACE. IX 
 
 (including those in the collection of Mr. Murray of Alber- 
 marle Street) remain almost unknown. Much curious in- 
 formation has been gleaned from the " Relazioni " of the Ve- 
 netian embassadors, edited by Alberi, or in the more accessi- 
 ble volumes of Tommaseo and Baschet. I need not point 
 out the value of the documents contained in the cor- 
 respondence of Aubespine, La Mothe - Fenelon, Cardinal 
 Granvelle, and in the " Archives de la Maison d'Orange- 
 Nassau," published by Groen van Prinsterer. The letters 
 of the English agents in France, so singularly neglected by 
 many writers, help to explain several of the incidents of 
 the Tumult of Amboise and the proposed war in Flanders 
 in 1572. The omission from Walsingham's correspond- 
 ence of all account of the Massacre is much to be lament- 
 ed. Though I have sought for it in vain, I still entertain 
 a hope that it may some day be recovered. In the Record 
 Office there is a curious report by the famous Kirkaldy of 
 Grange, of which Mr. Froude has already made use in his 
 last volume. Two other remarkable contemporary letters 
 one in Spanish, the other in German are noticed in 
 their proper place. 
 
 Either personally or through the help of kind friends 
 the author has searched far and wide among the provincial 
 records of France. The sources of the information thus 
 acquired have been carefully indicated in the notes, and 
 the result has often been to discredit the statements of the 
 older writers, carelessly copied by their successors. Two 
 remarkable instances connected with Toulouse and Lyons 
 will be observed in the course of the history. The Medicis 
 MSS. at Le Puy, the manuscripts in the public library at 
 Rouen, the letters of Charles IX. at Tours, the Acts Con-
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 sulaires of Lyons, the Consular and Parliament Eegisters 
 of Toulouse, the Registers of Caen, the Livre du Roi at 
 Dijon, the Municipal Archives and Baptismal Registers at 
 Provins, the Comptes Consulaires at Gap, have contributed 
 to enrich this volume on several important matters. The 
 public records of Montpelier, Nismes, Grenoble, Clermont- 
 Ferrand, Bayeux, and other places, as well as the unpub- 
 lished Memoirs of Jacques Gaches, and the MS. of Presi- 
 dent Latomy, which differs considerably from the printed 
 text, have also furnished their contingent of information. 
 Much curious and interesting matter has been found in 
 Haag's " France Protestante," and in the "Bulletin de la 
 Societe de 1'Histoire du Protestantism e Francois." 
 
 The reader will find very little in this volume about the 
 internal development of the Reformed Church ; for such 
 information he must look to theological histories and to 
 writers who have made theology their study. Laymen 
 who venture into that field rarely escape the imputation 
 of ignorance or heterodoxy. 
 
 December, 1867.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 [1500-1547.] 
 
 Causes of the Reformation Lefevre of Staples Francis I. Revival of 
 Learning La Renaissance Clerical Manners Early Converts and first 
 Victims Jacques Pavannes, Berquin Margaret of Valois Calvin and 
 his Institutes The King's Inconstancy Edict of Fontainebleau Two 
 Heretics burned Treaty of Crespy Vaudois Persecution The Baron of 
 Oppede Massacre at Merindol Cry of Indignation Sadolet, Bishop of 
 Cavpentras Tragedy of Meaux A Cloud of Witnesses Stephen Dolet 
 and Robert Stephens Marot The last Martyr Death of Francis I. 
 His Funeral Sermon His Character ..PAGE 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HENRY II. 
 
 [1547-1C5D.] 
 
 Henry II. Catherine and Diana Montmorer.cy Coronation King en- 
 ters Paris Fetes Heretic Burning New Edicts Chambres Ardentes 
 Edict of Chateaubriant Persecution at Angers, Le Puy, Velay Inquisi- 
 tion proposed Resistance of Parliament Siege and Battle of St. Quentin 
 Affair of the Rue St. Jacques Martyrdom of Philippa de Lunz Cal- 
 vin's Letter Pre aux Clercs and Marot's Psalms Peace of Cateau-Cam- 
 bresis Divisions in the Paris Parliament The Mercurial of June Du 
 Faur and Du Bourg arrested First Synod of Reformed Churches Con- 
 fession of Faith and Book of Discipline Edict of Ecouen The Tourna- 
 ment Henry's Death 22 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 REIGN OF FRANCIS II. 
 [1550-1560.] 
 
 Catherine de Medicis The Duke of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine 
 St. Andre Anthony of Navarre and Conde' Coligny and Andelot Dis- 
 grace of Montmorency Persecuting Edicts Execution of Du Bourg 
 Discontent in France Edict of Chambord La Renaudie The Meeting 
 at Nantes Tumult of Amboise Bloody Reprisals Castelnau's Trial and 
 Execution The Duke's Viands Aubigne and his Son Grace of Am-
 
 XI I CONTENTS. 
 
 boise Regnicr de la Planchc Renewal of Persecutions L'Hopital made 
 Chancellor Edict of Komorantin Religious and Political Malcontents 
 Abuse of the Pulpit The Tiger General Lawlessness Huguenot Vio- 
 lence Demand for a Council Montbrun and Mouvans L'Hopital's 
 Inaugural Address Les Politiques The Notables at Fontainebleau 
 Montluc and Marillac Meeting at Nerac Address presented to Antho- 
 ny The Court at Orleans Arrest and Trial of Conde' Death of Fran- 
 cis II Gl 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FRANCE AT THE ACCESSION OF CHARLES IX. 
 
 [1530.] 
 
 Contrast Power of King and Nobles The Provinces Roads Rate of 
 Traveling Forests Wild Animals Brigandage Inns League of the 
 Loire Agriculture Condition of the Peasantry Rent Serfage Wages 
 Cost of Provisions Food Sumptuary Laws Social Changes Igno- 
 rance of the People Population of France Taxation Army and Navy 
 The Clergy Superstitions Justice Punishments Brutality of Man- 
 ners Domestic Architecture Paris Cities of France : Orleans, Rouen, 
 Bordeaux, Dieppe, Lyons, Boulogne, Dijon, Monlins, St. Eticnne, and 
 Toulouse 112 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FROM THE ACCESSION OF CHARLES IX. TO THE MASSACRE OF VASSY. 
 
 [1500-1502.] 
 
 Character of the Boy-KingPortrait of Catherine The States-General 
 The Chancellor's Address Speeches of the Three Orators Agitation in 
 the Provinces Religious Amnesty Edict of July Provincial Assemblies 
 Convoked Instructions of the Isle of France The Triumvirate States 
 of Pontoise Proposals of Reform Colloquy of Poissy Beza Confer- 
 ence in the Queen's Chamber King's Speech Beza's Defense Cath- 
 erine's Liberal Spirit Spread of New Doctrines Monster Congregations 
 The Guises Intrigue with Spain Violence of the Clergy Massacres at 
 Cahors and Aurillac Amiens Huguenot Outrages Riot of St. Medard 
 Notables at St. Germains Edict of January, 1562 Violence at Dijon 
 and Aix Anthony's Apostasy The Duke and the Cardinal at Savernc 
 Massacre at Vassy Both Parties Arm Guise Enters Paris Plot to 
 Seize the King H5 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FIRST RELIGIOUS \VAR. 
 
 [1563-1563.] 
 
 Beginning of Reaction Causes of the War The Huguenots arm Advice 
 of Coligny's Wife Covenant of Association Massacre at Sens and Sis- 
 teron Discipline of the Armies Catherine attempts to mediate Con-
 
 CONTENTS. Xlil 
 
 forence at Thour}' Negotiations broken off Fearful state of Paris The 
 Constable's violence Appeals to Foreign Sympathy Successes of the 
 Koyalists Atrocities at Blois and Tours Kouen Besieged The Breach 
 stormed The Hour of Vengeance Pastor Marlorat hanged Death of 
 Anthony of Navarre Disturbances in Normandy Offer of Amnesty 
 Battle of Dreux Conde' and Montmorency captured St. Andre killed 
 Siege of Orleans Duke of Guise murdered Poltrot de Mere Pacifi- 
 cation of Amboise Distress caused by the War Death of Coligny's Son 
 Letter to his Wife 195 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CHAOS. 
 
 [15C2-15G3.] 
 
 Nature of the Struggle Montluc His Barbarity Des Adrets His Feroc- 
 ity Murders at Gaillac The Reform in Provence and Languedoc 
 Scenes at Orange Revolt at Valence Disturbances at Lyons Compro- 
 mise LaRochelle Massacre at Toulouse Exodus of Sisteron Sauter- 
 ies of Macon Limoux Palm Sunday at Castelnaudary The Monks of 
 St. Calais Violence in Berry The Chatelaine of Avallon The Proctor 
 of Bar Atrocities of the Bishop of Le Mans and his Lieutenant Hugue- 
 not Cruelties at Dieppe and Bayeux Angouleme Quarrels at Court 
 Siege of Havre Duplicity of English Government Charles Proclaimed 
 of Age His Character Council of Trent 22D 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 TUE MEETING AT BAYOSNE. 
 
 [June, 1505 March, 1568.] 
 
 Tin; Royal progress Bayonne in June Identical note Amusements Po- 
 litical Deliberations The Queen of Navarre Excommunicated Cather- 
 ine's Remonstrance The Pope yields State of Gascony Assembly of 
 Notables at Moulins Feud between Guise and Coligny Montmorency 
 and the Cardinal Disturbed state of Maine Montluc pacifies Gascony 
 Embassy from Germany Rebellion in Flanders March of Alva Conde 
 leaves the Court Rumored Plot Huguenot Meeting at Chatillon War 
 resolved upon Attempt to seize Charles Huguenot Rising Battle of 
 St. Denis Death of the Constable German Auxiliaries Michelade of 
 Nismes Siege of Chartres Peace of Longjumeau Death of Coligny's 
 Wife 247 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 JABKAC AND MOXCOXTOUR. 
 [156S-15TO.] 
 
 State of the Country The National Party Atrocities and Retaliation 
 L'Hopital's Retirement The Catholic League League of Toulouse 
 The New Plot The Flight to Rochelle Aid from England Anjou,
 
 xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 Commander-in-Chief Battle of Jarnac Death of Conde Henry of 
 Beam Siege of Cognac Junction of Duke Wolfgang Death of Brissac 
 Battle of Koehe-Abeille Siege of Poitiers Moncontour The Admi- 
 ral's letter to his Children Siege of St. Jean D'Angely Desmarais The 
 Great March Cruelties at Orthez, Auxcrrc, Orleans, Cognat, Aurillac 
 Coligny's illness Battle of Arnay-le-Duc Treaty of St. Germains. 283 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE CALM BEFORE THE STOBM. 
 
 [August, 15TO, to August, 1572.] 
 
 Albert and Pierre de Gondi, Birague, Strozzi, Nevers, and Henry of Guise 
 Marriage of Charles IX. Nuptial Festivities at Paris Embassy of the 
 German Princes Violent Sermons Outrages at Orange and llouen 
 Objects of the Politiques Revolt in Flanders Position of Affairs In- 
 terview between the King and Prince Louis of Nassau Spanish Threats 
 Coligny's Marriage The Admiral goes to Blois Conferences with the 
 King Proposed Marriage of Henry and Margaret Murder of Ligne- 
 rolles The Gastine Cross Queen of Navarre at Blois Alessandrino's 
 Special Embassy Letters to Rome Negotiations Pope refuses the Dis- 
 pensation Fears of the Parisians 319 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE MARRIAGE AND THE PLOT. 
 [August, 1572.] 
 
 Proposed German and English' Alliances Anjon's Refusal Treaty with 
 England Capture of Mons Defeat of Genlis Walsingham's Dispatches 
 War-Excitement Deliberations in Council Charles at Montpipeau 
 Catherine follows him Her tears Increasing influence of Coligny His 
 Death resolved on Joan of Navarre in Paris Her sudden Death Dis- 
 trust and Warnings Coligny's firmness Plot and Counterplot Henry 
 of Navarre enters Paris The Wedding Masque at the Hotel Bourbon 
 The Admiral's last Letter Plot to Assassinate him The Duchess of 
 
 Nemours Maurevel sent for 353 
 
 i 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE ASSASSINATION. 
 [22d, 23d, and 24th August] 
 
 Coligny in tho Tennis-Court The Fatal Shot The King's Indignation 
 and Threats Letters to Provincial Governors Precautions in the City 
 Interview between Charles and the Admiral Despair of Catherine and 
 Anjou The Huguenot Council Threats of violence De Pilles and 
 Pardaillan at the Louvre The Turning-point Conversation between 
 Catherine and Anjou Meeting in tho Tnileries Garden Guard sent to 
 Coligny Scene in the King's Closet Catherine's Argument DC Retz
 
 CONTEXTS. XV 
 
 Protests Charles Yields at last Guise in the City Precautions Anjou 
 and Angouleme ride through Paris Municipal Arrangements Charles 
 and La Ilochefoucault Margaret and her sister Claude Coligny's last 
 Night 379 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE FESTIVAL OF BLOOD. 
 
 [August and September, 1572. ] 
 
 The Huguenot Gentleman Killed Midnight at the Louvre Charles still 
 hesitates The Conspirators at the window The pistol-shot Guise re- 
 called too late Scene at Coligtiy's Hotel The assault and murder In- 
 dignities Montfaii9on Scene at the Louvre Queen Margaret's alarm 
 Proclamations Salviati's letter List of Atrocities Death of Ramus 
 and La Place Charles fires upon the Fugitives Escape of Montgomery, 
 Sully, Duplessis-Mornay, Caumont The Miracle of the White Thorn 
 Charles conscience-stricken Thanksgiving and Justification Execution 
 of Briquemaut and Cavaigncs Abjuration of Henry and Conde 404 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MASSACRE IN THE PROVINCES. 
 
 [August to October, 1572.] 
 
 Instructions to the Governors The Count of Tende Nantes and Alencon 
 Massacres at Saumur, Angers, Lyons, Orleans, Troyes, Rouen, Meaux, 
 Bordeaux, and Toulouse St. Herem's Ie.tter The stolen Dispatch The 
 Governor of Bayonne The Bishop of Lisieux Chabot at Arnay-le-Duc 
 Senlis, Provins, Chateau-Thierry, Dieppe, and Nismes spared The 
 Number of Victims Contemporary Judgments Dorat's Panegyric 
 Jean Le Masle Pierre Charpentier and Sorbin Rejoicings at Rome Ex- 
 ultation of Philip II. Horror in England John Knox's Denunciation 
 The Emperor Maximilian's regret 446 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE CLOSING SCENE. 
 [1572-1574] 
 
 Reaction Tolerant Protestations of Government Walsingham's disbelief 
 and caution Renewal of Civil War Mission of Cardinal Orsini Siege 
 of Rochelle Honorable terms of Capitulation Siege of Sancerre Fam- 
 ine Horrible scenes Capitulation Meeting at Montauban Troubled 
 state of France Intrigues of Alencon Shrove-Tuesday plot La Mole 
 and Coconnas executed Charles falls ill Conversation with Henry of 
 Navarre Charles's visions His Huguenot nurse Her exhortations The 
 King's remorse His dying words Suspicions of Poison His character 
 His married life Judgment of Posterity 471
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS. 
 
 C^EDES COLIGKII ET SOCIORTTM EjUS. THE MASSACRE IN 
 
 PARIS (from the Picture in the Vatican by Vasari) Frontispiece. 
 
 GASPARD DE COLIGNY 68 
 
 CATHERINE DE MEDICIS.... 146
 
 THE 
 
 MASSACRE OF ST, BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 [1500-1517.] 
 
 Causes of the Reformation Lefevre of Staples Francis I. Revival of 
 Learning La Renaissance Clerical Manners Early Converts and First 
 Victims Jacques Pavannes, Berquin Margaret of Valois Calvin and 
 his Institutes The King's Inconstancy Edict of Fontainebleau Two 
 Heretics Burned Treaty of Crespy Vaudois Persecution The Baron of 
 Oppede Massacre at Merindol Cry of Indignation Sadolet, Bishop of 
 Carpentras Tragedy of Meaux A Cloud of Witnesses Stephen Dolet 
 and Robert Stephens Marot The Last Martyr Death of Francis I. 
 His Funeral Sermon His Character. 
 
 THE sixteenth century has been rightly called the era of the 
 Renaissance. Then learning and religion revived; the fine 
 arts received a fresh development. Then a new spirit 
 breathed upon the nations, and the people began to feel that 
 they were intended to be something better than hewers of 
 wood and drawers of water mere beasts of burden or trib- 
 ute-paying machines for the use of their lords. The great 
 Reform movement had been preparing from afar. Had Con- 
 stantinople never fallen, had Eastern learning not been driven 
 to seek an asylum in the "West, the religious revolution might 
 have been retarded; it could not have been prevented. In 
 the hour when Guttenberg printed the first sheet of his Bible 
 the spiritual despotism of Rome began to totter. It was a 
 strange period of excitement, when Vasco de Gama made his 
 way to India round the Cape of Storms, and when Columbus 
 returned triumphant from the discovery of a new world. A 
 
 A
 
 2 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 spirit of restlessness and scepticism pervaded all Europe. 
 Monks in their cloisters, hermits in their ceUs, barons in their 
 castles, lawyers in their courts, priests in their rural parson- 
 ages, all felt it alike. Princes on the throne doubted the in- 
 fallibility of the Church, or drove the Holy Father from his 
 capital. There seemed to be nothing sacred against the at- 
 tacks of the wits and scholars of the day. Rabelais, under 
 the mask of his cynical buffoonery, made the clergy a laugh- 
 ing-stock. Erasmus, with a satire as keen as Voltaire's, as- 
 sailed the most prominent abuses of the Church. Ulrich von 
 Hutten, in his " Epistles of Obscure Men," attacked the same 
 abuses, with less polished weapons but in a more popular 
 style. But if the iconoclasts of the sixteenth century had 
 used no other arms than wit and satire, and done no more 
 than brand the vicious lives and extortionate practices of the 
 clergy, they would never have reformed the world. The doc- 
 trines of the Church had degenerated into an empty formal- 
 ism leaving the heart untouched, the life unchanged. On a 
 sudden, as if by mutual arrangement, a new race of preachers 
 sprang xip in Europe. Lefevre in France, Zuingle in Switzer- 
 land, Tyndale in England, and Luther in Germany, all taught 
 the same doctrine. In each country the Reformation assumed 
 a peculiar form, though preserving the same general charac- 
 teristics; and just in the proportion as Protestantism has 
 yielded to, and in its turn moulded these characteristics, it has 
 survived and flourished to the present time. If the Reform 
 was almost crushed out in France, it was because it took too 
 little account of national character. And yet the French 
 Reformation was exclusively of native growth. Lefevre and 
 his disciple Farel began to preach, some years before Luther, 
 that great doctrine of justification by faith which was the 
 foundation-stone of the new Church. 
 
 There are men who still deny the necessity of the great re- 
 ligious revolution of the sixteenth century, and contend that 
 a slight reform in discipline, such as a pious pope would have 
 conceded, was all that the Church required. But if such a re-
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 3 
 
 form had been possible, would it have been lasting? "We 
 have seen within these few years how little that singular phe- 
 nomenon, a liberal pope, can do how impotent he is when the 
 clergy are opposed to him. It is very probable that if the 
 Church had seriously undertaken to reform itself, the great 
 disruption never would have taken place ; for, as Ranke says, 
 "Even the Protestants severed themselves slowly and reluc- 
 tantly from the communion of the Church." * France was 
 fully prepared for a religious reform. The king had made his 
 court the most learned centre in Europe ; for among the many 
 noble qualities possessed by Francis I., not the least of them 
 was the patronage he extended to artists and men of letters. 
 The great painters Leonardo da Vinci, Andrea del Sarto, and 
 Rosso were invited from Italy to adorn his palaces with their 
 magic pencils. Lascaris, a learned Greek, was commissioned 
 to form the king's library at Fontainebleau. Under the ad- 
 vice of the learned Budasus the college of France was estab- 
 lished for the study of the Greek and Hebrew languages. 
 This great intellectual movement, especially the study of He- 
 brew, " which turned Christians into Jews,"f so terrified that 
 guardian of orthodoxy, the theological college of the Sorbonne, 
 
 that 
 
 They in their zeal splenetic 
 Forbade the Greek and Hebrew tongues as heathen and heretic. 
 
 So wrote Marot, adding that they proved the truth of the old 
 proverb, " Learning has for enemy no creature but a dunce." 
 
 The Church of France was no worse than many other por- 
 tions of the Roman fold. So long as the people themselves 
 were ignorant, the ignorance of the priesthood did not trouble 
 them ; but immediately their own eyes were opened, they be- 
 came conscious of the deficiencies of their pastors. And it 
 would have been well for them had ignorance been the worst 
 failing of the clergy : they were vicious also. A contempora- 
 ry manuscript tells us that " many are so ignorant that they 
 
 *Hist. of Popes, i. 120 (Mrs. Austin's). 
 
 t From a sermon quoted by Sismondi, Hist, des Fran$ais.
 
 4 MASSACRE or ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 can not interpret what is said in the course of divine service, 
 and are unable to read or write ; so negligent that they have 
 left off preaching altogether. . . . They take delight in world- 
 ly pleasures, and spend the greater part of the day in taverns, 
 drinking, gambling, and toying with women, and keep a tru- 
 ande in their houses." * How the priests abused the simple 
 confidence of their flocks is evident from the pious frauds they 
 practiced, particularly in the matter of relics. Of one instance 
 of this tampering with the religious feelings of the people, it 
 was said, " that either the Virgin Mary must have had two 
 mothers, or her mother must have had two heads." A feather 
 from the angel Gabriel's wing, or a bottle of Egyptian dark- 
 ness, were silly but harmless deceptions ; but there were oth- 
 ers which to name is impossible.f 
 
 In the field thus prepared for the truth, the new doctrines 
 spread rapidly, one great help to their diffusion being the use 
 of the French language, while the orthodox clergy stuck so 
 obstinately to their Latin, that Antony de Mouchi, surnamed 
 Demochares, felt it necessary to apologize for using the ver- 
 nacular in a work he had written in answer to a Huguenot 
 pamphlet. J At first the converts were more numerous among 
 the educated and high-born, than among the low and unlet- 
 tered multitude. They early received the baptism of fire. 
 In 1524, while Francis I. was in captivity at Madrid, the Par- 
 liament of Paris revived an edict of Louis XII. concerning 
 blasphemy, and nominated a commission to try Lutherans and 
 
 * Mem, de fAcad. Stanislas, Nancy, 1862, p. 369. 
 
 t Here are some of the objects once preserved in the cathedral of Cler- 
 mont: "Imprimis de umbilico Filii Dei cum quinque unguibus de sinis- 
 tra manu ; przepucinm ipsius cum duabus unguibus de dextra manu, et dc 
 pannis quibus fuit involutus, et undecimam partem sudarii quod fuit ante 
 oculos ejus cum sanguine ipsius, et de tunica, et de barba, ct de capillis, et 
 de prrccincto ejus cum sanguine et tres ungues ejus ex recisione mantis 
 dexterae et partem spinse corona;, ct de pane quern ipse benedixit, ct ex 
 spongia ejus, et ex virgis quibus ca;sus fuit, ct de capillis Beatae Mariae tres 
 et brachiale ejus, et de vestimento ipsius cum lactc." Baluze, ii. p. 39 ; 
 Dulaure, Descript. Auvergne, p. 197. 
 
 I Reponse a qwlque apoloyie, etc. 1558, fol. 2.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. o 
 
 other heretics. In the following year, a brief of Clement VII. 
 ratified this encroachment on the rights of the Church, ap- 
 proving of the commissioners or inquisitors appointed, per- 
 mitting them to enter upon their duties " with apostolical au- 
 thority," and ordering them to try their prisoners "without 
 noise and without form of judgment, as is the custom in such 
 cases." * This bull, besides condemning heretics to be pun- 
 ished in body and goods, forbade all persons to supply them 
 with corn, wine, oil, or other merchandise, under pain of being 
 treated as accomplices. That this bull was something more 
 than an empty threat, is evident from a letter written by 
 Clement to congratulate the Parliament of Paris on the way 
 in which they had carried it out, adding " that the new errors 
 were as opposed to the State as to the Church." We need 
 not stop to show that the kingdom which has always put it- 
 self forward as the champion of Popery, both in the East and 
 in the West, is that in which the Church and the State have 
 suffered more from revolution than any Protestant country. 
 
 One of the first victims in Paris was Jacques Pavannes, 
 who procured a temporary respite by recanting. Although 
 young in years, he afterward showed a firmness and faith that 
 would have become a veteran warrior of Christ. Withdraw- 
 ing his recantation, he was condemned to suffer by fire, and 
 when at the stake he spoke with such unction that a doctor 
 of the Sorbonne declared " it would have been better for the 
 Church to have paid a million of money than have allowed 
 Pavannes to address the people." (1525). A more illustri- 
 ous victim was Louis de Berquin, scion of a noble family of 
 Artois: by his scholarship and wit he was of the Erasmian 
 school he had mortally offended the monks and (if the ex- 
 pression be allowable) the old fogyism of the Sorbonne. The 
 king and his sister, Margaret of Valois, had saved him two or 
 three times; but at last he was caught in the toils, and his 
 
 * " DC piano, sine strepitu ct figura judicii, prout in similibus consuevit." 
 Isambcrt : liecueil des Lois />. t. xii. p. 231.
 
 6 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 trial was hurried on so that Francis should not have the op- 
 portunity of interfering. (1529). Fourteen victims of less 
 note suffered not long after ; but ideas are not to be burned 
 out at the stake or stifled in prisons, and it soon became evi- 
 dent that the new doctrines were spreading wider and wider 
 every day. " The smoke of these sacrifices," says Mezeray, 
 " had got into people's heads." 
 
 The followers of the new creed had but one friend at court, 
 and this was Margaret of Valois, the king's sister, a pious ten- 
 der-hearted woman, who had interposed more than once to 
 rescue the victims of the Sorbonne and of Rome. She was 
 not a Protestant, and shrank from any rupture with Catholi- 
 cism. She would have liked to see the old and the new Church 
 united, each yielding something to the other. The age, how- 
 ever, was not one for compromises. Day by day the lines of 
 demarkation became more strongly marked, especially after 
 the publication of Calvin's " Institutes of the Christian Re- 
 ligion" (1535), which became at once the text-book and the 
 charter of the evangelicals in France. Calvin was a thorough- 
 going reformer. To adopt a familiar distinction, while Luther 
 rejected nothing that was not condemned by Scripture, Calvin 
 accepted nothing that was not directly countenanced by it. 
 Luther's system was, probably, the wiser, as it did not break 
 directly with the past ; but either principle carried to extremes 
 is faulty. Looking at the subsequent history of Protestant- 
 ism in France, we can see how (under the Calvinistic form) it 
 excited an antagonism never felt in Germany ; it seemed to 
 aim at deposing the king as well as the pope. And it is 
 doubtful whether such a cold undecorated form of religion is 
 suited to the warm and impulsive temperament of the Celtic 
 race which forms the lowest stratum of the French popula- 
 tion. 
 
 In France it was long before the Reformation reached the 
 lower classes the masses, as it is the fashion to call them ; 
 the rural gently, the men of education, the well-to-do trades- 
 men, artists, and " all who from their callings possessed any
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 7 
 
 elevation of mind," were the first converts.* They were nat- 
 urally opposed by the clergy and the lawyers, for corporate 
 bodies are always great enemies to change. 
 
 Francis I. appears to have seen the desirability of a reform 
 in the Church, not so much from religious as from political 
 motives. He hated the monks, and was thwarted by the Sor- 
 bonne ; he read the Holy Scriptures with his sister Margaret, 
 and took the extraordinary step of inviting Melanchthon to 
 France in order to arrange some compromise by which Popery 
 and Protestantism might be united. It was a vain dream, 
 even if the king were sincere, which is exceedingly doubtful. 
 He might at one time have pleaded that the persecutions were 
 carried on without his knowledge and even in defiance of 
 him; but on 21st January, 1535, he took an active part in the 
 burning of six unfortunate "Lutherans." In this case his 
 pride had been hurt by some rude and indefensible proceed- 
 ings of the Reformed party ;f but he could be equally un- 
 feeling and unscrupulous from mere political expediency. In 
 the same month of January, 1535, he issued a royal edict com- 
 manding the instant extirpation of heresy in every form ; all 
 who aided or harbored heretics, or did not inform against 
 them, were to be punished as principals ; and informers were 
 to receive one-fourth part of the confiscation and fines a sure 
 mode of procuring victims. This decree was modified in 
 June, when Francis was coquetting with the Protestant 
 princes of Germany; but the pains and penalties were only 
 remitted to such as abjured their faith and returned to the 
 bosom of the Church. On 1st June, 1540, appeared the fa- 
 
 * Florimond de Esmond : Ilistoire de la naissance, etc. de Fheresie de ce 
 siecle, bk. vii. p. 931. 
 
 t Beza : Hist. Eccles. liv. i. For this " Affair of the Placards " see Merle 
 d'Aubigne : Reform, in time of Calvin, vol. iii. bk. iv. ch. 9 to 12. A pas- 
 sage like this must have been as offensive as it was unjustifiable : "Nous no 
 voulons croire a vos idoles, a vos lieux nouveaux et nouveaux Christs, qui 
 se laissent manger aux betes et & vous pareillement, qui etes pires que 
 betes, en vos badinages lequels vous faites a 1'entour de votre dieu de pate 
 duquel vous vous jouez comme un chat d'une souris," etc.
 
 8 MASSACRE OP ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 mous edict of Fontainebleau, confirming all previous edicts, 
 and ordering the strictest search to be made for heretics ; and, 
 as if its provisions were not harsh enough, letters patent were 
 issued at the end of October, 1542, enjoining every parliament 
 in the kingdom to " execute prompt and rigorous judgment," 
 so that the new heresy might be destroyed root and branch. 
 No time was lost in carrying out these dreadful instructions. 
 Among the victims of this renewed persecution was one Dela- 
 voye, who being told that a warrant was out against him, and 
 that the officers were on their way to seize him, refused to 
 hide himself as his friends advised. "Hirelings and false 
 prophets may do so," he said ; " but following the example of 
 St. Paul, 'I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die for 
 the name of the Lord Jesus." ' Another sufferer, Constantino 
 by name, was taken to execution in a scavenger's cart. In al- 
 lusion to this he said, " Truly hath the apostle declared, ' We 
 are as the filth of the earth, and the offscouring of all things. 1 
 We stink in the nostrils of the men of this world ; but let us 
 rejoice, for the savor of our death will be acceptable to God 
 and serviceable to the Church." 
 
 A German residing in Paris in the summer of 1542 wrote 
 to a friend an account of the execution of two heretics which 
 he had witnessed. In his letter we learn how sympathy for 
 the victims tended to make converts. One of them was a 
 smooth-cheeked youth under twenty years of age, the son of a 
 shoe-maker ; the other, a man with a long white beard, stoop- 
 ing under the burden of fourscore years. The young man 
 had spoken contemptuously of images, comparing them to the 
 gods of the heathen; the old man had protested against 
 prayers to the saints, and had declared that all Christians were 
 priests. Both were condemned to suffer at the same stake 
 for their " Lutheranism," as it was called. As the youth re- 
 fused to retract, he was to have his tongue cut out. No 
 change could be observed in his face when the hangman ap- 
 proached him to perform this first act of cruelty. He put 
 the tongue out as far as he could, the torturer pulled it out
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 9 
 
 still farther with pinchers, and cut it off, slapping the martyr 
 with it on the cheek. He then threw the tongue among the 
 crowd, who, "it is said," adds the writer conscientiously, 
 "picked it up and flung it back in the martyr's face. As 
 he got out of the cart, he looked as if he were going to a 
 feast and not to punishment." Unmoved by the howling and 
 the savage cries of the mob, he took his place calmly at the 
 post, where a chain was passed round him. He now and 
 then spat the blood from his mouth, but kept his eyes fixed on 
 heaven, as if looking there for help. When the executioner 
 covered his head Avith sulphur and pointed to the fire, he still 
 smiled and bowed, as if to show he died willingly. The old 
 man, who was the father of a large family and much re- 
 spected for his upright life, had retracted, and his punishment 
 was consequently modified. He was strangled before being 
 thrown into the flames; "yet some," adds the eye-witness, 
 " thought this punishment too mild, and would have had him 
 burned alive." * 
 
 The histoiy of persecution contains little novelty: it is 
 the same story of calumnious accusations and savage fury 
 from the letter of Pliny to the invectives of the monks in 
 the sixteenth century. The council which assembled at 
 Bourges in 1528 not only condemned all Lutheran doctrines 
 whatsoever, but compared heretics with sorcerers and magi- 
 cians in order to render them more odious. The Reformers 
 were accused of being bad subjects, rebels, revolutionists, 
 aiming at the overthrow of the monarchy as well as the per- 
 version of religion. This Francis I. pretended to believe, 
 though he knew better ; and it is this charge which Calvin so 
 eloquently refutes in his " Letter to the King," prefixed to 
 his " Christian Institutes." " Is it possible," he asks, " that 
 we who have never been heard to utter a seditious word, and 
 whose lives have always been known to be simple and peace- 
 
 * Eustathins de KnobelsdorfF to Georpe Cassander, in Illustr. ft Clur. 
 Viror. JE/rist. Setecta., Lugd. Bat. 1617, quoted in Baum : Leben Ileza's.
 
 10 MASSACRE OP ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 able, should be plotting the overthrow of the kingdom? 
 And what is more, being now driven from our homes (he is 
 referring particularly to the emigration after the persecutions 
 of 1534), we cease not to pray for your prosperity. . . . 
 Praised be God, we have not profited so ill by the gospel, 
 that our lives can not hold forth to our detractors an example 
 of liberality, chastity, compassion, temperance, patience, mod- 
 esty, and all other virtues. Verily the truth beareth witness 
 for us that we fear and honor God purely, when by our life 
 and by our death we desire his name to be sanctified." In 
 the "Institutes" he went still farther, laying down principles 
 that almost consecrate oppression. " We must show a wick- 
 ed tyrant such honor as our Lord has condescended to or- 
 dain. . . . We must show this obedience through fear of 
 God, as we serve God himself, since it is 'from him that 
 princes derive their power." This obedience, however, he is 
 very careful to restrict to secular matters. " When God or- 
 dained mortals to rule, he did not abdicate his rights. If 
 kings command any thing contrary to him it should have no 
 honor, for, says Peter, we ought to obey God rather than 
 men." 
 
 The cruelties of this age may be accounted for, though 
 they can not be excused. Within the memory of living men, 
 political heretics have been punished quite as severely (the 
 stake excepted) as religious heretics, and that too without 
 the same excuse. The priest when he burned the body 
 hoped, or professed to hope, to save the soul : the political 
 heretic was often sacrificed to secure a party or a minister in 
 power. The persecutors of the sixteenth century must not, 
 therefore, be overwhelmed with inconsiderate reproval : they 
 were but men, living in an age when persecution was a duty, 
 and heretics had no rights. There is still too much of the 
 savage in the human breast, though, civilization has done 
 much to extinguish it ; in the reign of Francis I. the savage 
 was uppermost. But so remarkably did the blood of the 
 martyrs prove the seed of the Church, that a Catholic writer
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 11 
 
 compares the " Lutherans " of this time to the fabulous hy- 
 dra ; when one head was cut off, two sprang up in its place. 
 And no wonder ; for the author of the "History of Heresies" 
 writes of these martyrs, even while ascribing their, patient 
 endurance to satanic influence, " that Christianity had revived 
 in all its primitive simplicity." 
 
 In 1544 Francis I. concluded the treaty of Crespy with 
 the Emperor Charles V., by which the two jnonarchs bound 
 themselves to exterminate heresy within their respective do- 
 minions. The king chanced to be ill of a dangerous disease 
 brought on by his licentiousness, and for five or six weeks 
 his life hung upon a thread. The bigoted Cardinal de Tour- 
 non, making him believe that his sufferings were a judgment 
 from God, urged him to propitiate heaven by destroying 
 heresy. Moved by these motives, and by misrepresentations 
 which the victims had no opportunity of correcting, for they 
 were never heard, Francis issued an order for the extir- 
 pation of the Waldenses of Provence, who appear to have 
 excited the wrath of the clergy to a terrible height. These 
 Vaudois, as they are usually called, the better to distinguish 
 them from the Waldenses of Savoy, lived in the south-east 
 corner of France, between the Durance and the Alps. They 
 were a peaceable, God-fearing, industrious race,* and had 
 been a living protest against the Church of Rome for hun- 
 dreds of years even from the days of Constantino, if their 
 annals may be trusted. Louis XII. is reported to have 
 called them " better Christians than himself ;"f and a Rom- 
 ish missionary, who was sent to turn them from the error 
 of their ways, was himself converted and forced to acknowl- 
 edge that " he had learned more from the little Vaudois chil- 
 
 * Hist, desguerres dans h Venaissin, etc. i. p. 39. Published anonymously, 
 hut the author was Father Justin, a Capuchin monk. See also Muston : 
 Israel des Alpes, 1851 . 
 
 t Bossuet (Hist, des Variations, liv. xi. 143) acknowledges their piety, 
 hut calls it " feigned," and ascribes their virtues to the inspiration of the 
 devil.
 
 12 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 (Iron than lie had ever clone at college." In the wildest 
 valleys of the Alps, and on rocky heights where the cham- 
 ois could hardly keep his footing, they built their huts and 
 tended their flocks. They had covered a barren district 
 with smiling harvests, " making the desert blossom as the 
 rose." Du Bellay, governor of Piedmont, describes them as 
 " a simple people," paying their taille to the crown and the 
 droits to their lord more regularly than their orthodox neigh- 
 bors. But their virtues were their chief crime in the eyes of 
 the king's clerical advisers. In 1540 the Parliament of Prov- 
 ence had condemned twenty-three of these poor creatures to 
 be burned alive for contumacy, and ordered their country to 
 be laid waste. The sanguinary decree farther directed the 
 towns of Merindol and Cabrieres, and other places, which 
 had been the refuge and retreat of the heretics, to be razed to 
 the ground, the caves which had served them for an asylum 
 to be destroyed, the forests cut down, the fruit-trees rooted 
 up, the rebel chiefs put to death, and their wives and children 
 banished for life."* Some friends of the poor Vaudois suc- 
 ceeded in getting the decree suspended until 1st January, 
 1545 ; when Francis I., hoping to do a meritorious work that 
 would atone for his dissolute life, ordered it to be enforced. 
 To John Menier, baron of Oppede, and chief president of the 
 Parliament of Provence, was entrusted the task of carrying 
 out the royal decree. He was one of those happily rare indi- 
 viduals who delight in slaughter from mere blood-thirstiness. 
 He made no distinction between believers and heretics. The 
 troops under his orders wild mercenaries with more of the 
 brigand than of the disciplined soldier wasted the country 
 with fire and sword. From the frightful detail of cruelties 
 one little fact may be gathered characteristic of the man. 
 All the inhabitants of the town of Merindol, which stood on 
 the Durance,f were put to the sword, with the exception of 
 
 * Cabasse : Hist. Par?. Provence. 
 
 t II n'cxistc plus ricn du bourg florissant de Merindol. Lacretelle : Guerrcs 
 de Rel. i. p. 31.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 13 
 
 one person, a poor idiot, who had ransomed his life by prom- 
 ising a soldier two crowns! Oppede heard of it, and sending 
 for the soldier, gave him the two crowns, and having thus 
 bought the prisoner, ordered him to be tied to a tree and shot 
 forthwith. " I know how to treat these people," he roared 
 out ; " I will send them, children and all, to live in hell." 
 The small town of Cabrieres, in the same neighborhood and a 
 little south of the poetic Vaucluse, was treated with similar 
 severity. Every house was destroyed ; between 700 and 800 
 persons were killed in the streets or fields ; a number of 
 women who had fled for refuge to a barn were burned to 
 death, and those who had escaped the sword and fire were 
 sent to the galleys " with circumstances of inhumanity," says 
 the historian, " that would have deserved our pity on any 
 other occasion." * " In one church," says Guerin, " I saw be- 
 tween four and five hundred poor souls of women and chil- 
 dren butchered." Twenty-five women 
 
 Praecipites atra ecu tcmpcstate columbce 
 Condense 
 
 who had taken refuge in a cavern in the papal territory of 
 Avignon, were smothered to death, the vice-legate kindling 
 the fire with his own hands.f In fine, twenty-four towns 
 and villages were destroyed and 3000 persons put to death. 
 Such little boys and girls as the soldiers did not want were 
 sold into slavery : they might be purchased for a crown apiece. 
 And that none might escape, the Parliament of Provence is- 
 sued a proclamation, forbidding the neighbors to offer the 
 Vaudois either food or shelter, so that many were starved to 
 death in the mountains.^ 
 
 * Mezeray, iii. p. 1034. 
 
 t Some years ago a cave in a wild and almost inaccessible valley of the 
 Maritime Alps, near the village of Castiglione, was pointed out to me as one 
 of these places of refuge. It could be reached only by a rope, and consist- 
 ed of at least three chambers, one below the other. In the Vivarrais there 
 are many such caverns. 
 
 J Bouche calls them, "plutot ignorans que rebelles," and adds, "On 
 trouve dans 1'histoire des nations Ics plus fanatiques et les plus sauvages peu
 
 14 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 The tale of these fearful atrocities provoked a cry of indig- 
 nation from one end of the country to the other : * even the 
 king complained that his orders had been exceeded, but not 
 until after the letters patent of 18th August, 1545, approving 
 of all that had been done. We are told that the memories of 
 these cruelties haunted his dying-bed, and that he bequeathed 
 to his son the duty of taking vengeance on the murderers of 
 the Vaudois. This may be true, but when the Swiss cantons 
 remonstrated with him for his cruelty, he bade them mind 
 their own business, for the heretics had merely received the 
 just reward of their crimes. The only person punished for 
 these horrors and that was at the suit of Madame de Cantal, 
 whose property had been ruined by the slaughter of her peas- 
 antry was one Guerin, king's advocate in the Parliament of 
 Aix.f M. d'Oppede appears to have been so terrified at the 
 mere idea of being tried, that he fell ill and died in great suf- 
 fering; a judgment of God, as the Reformed declared it. A 
 Catholic historian of these days has ventured to apologize for 
 cruelties which could find no defender in the sixteenth centu- 
 ry. " Certain names," he says, " are branded for what is the 
 result of a popular force and movement by which they are car- 
 ried away. In a religious and believing state of society there 
 are necessities, as there have been cruel political necessities at 
 another epoch. Exaltation of ideas drives men to crime as by 
 a fatality." J Such reasoning will justify any crime, public or 
 private. To admit the cowardly doctrine of " necessity," is to 
 
 d'exemples d'une atrocite pareille." Essai sur THist. de Provence, ii. p. 83. 
 See Papon, Hist, de Provence, for a less favorable account of the Vaudois. 
 
 Viroset morte peremptos 
 Indigna, raptasque soluto crine puellas, 
 Et late miseris subjecta inccndia vicis. 
 
 L'Hopital, De Causa Merindoli. 
 
 t All the papers connected with this inquiry have perished. One of the 
 accused was the famous sea-captain Baron de la Garde, the same who dis- 
 puted the command of the Channel against Henry VIII., and occupied the 
 Isle of Wight in 1533. In the religious wars he sided with the Huguenots. 
 J Capcfigue : Hist, de la lleforme, ch. xvi.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 15 
 
 destroy moral responsibility, to make intellect subservient to 
 matter, and justice to brute force. It makes the usurper or 
 the murderer accuser, jxidge and executioner in his own cause. 
 It is a vindication of coups d""etat a deification of successful 
 villainy. If generally admitted, it would induce a moral tor- 
 por fatal to all intelligence. There were men living in the 
 Catholic communion in the sixteenth century who thought 
 very differently from the paradoxical historian of the nine- 
 teenth. Sadolet, Bishop of Carpentras a man so full of kind- 
 ness and charity that a modern writer has called him the 
 " Fenelon of his age " interfered to suspend the execution of 
 the first decree against the Vaudois of Merindol. He was a 
 ripe scholar and corresponded with all the learned men of the 
 day, heretical or orthodox, including Calvin and Melanchthon. 
 To the latter he wrote : " I am not the man to hate another 
 because he differs from me in opinion." * When Sturm of 
 Strasburg accused him of lying, he said : " You should have 
 left such coarse terms to Luther : they are unbecoming a mind 
 like yours. But you are mistaken, and I am sure you will re- 
 turn to your usual polite style. If ever you, Bucer, or Melanch- 
 thon have need of me, I am ready to serve you in more than 
 words." It is pleasing to meet with such a character, when 
 religious prejudice ran so high on both sides. 
 
 One of the most terrible tragedies to which the persecuting 
 edicts gave rise occurred at Meaux, in October, 1546, when 
 sixty persons were seized in the house of Stephen Mangin, 
 where they had met to hear a sermon. As the soldiers were 
 taking them through the streets to prison, some of the Protest- 
 ant spectators burst out with Marot's noble version of the sev- 
 enty-ninth Psalm 
 
 Behold, O God ! how heathen hosts 
 
 Have thy possessions seized ; 
 Thy sacred house they have defiled, 
 
 Thy holy city raz'd. 
 
 * Non ego sum qui, nt quisque a nobis opinione dissentit, statim cum odio 
 habeam.
 
 16 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 From Meaux they were transferred to Paris for trial, which 
 resolved itself into an attempt to extort a confession from them 
 by torture. They were sentenced to be carried back to 
 Meaux, and fourteen of them were to be burned alive in the 
 market-place, after suffering the question extraordinary. Oth- 
 ers were to be hung up by the shoulders during the execution 
 of their brethren, and then to be flogged and imprisoned for 
 life in a monastery. As they were passing through a forest 
 on their way back, a man followed them shouting : " Brethren, 
 remember Him who is in heaven above." He was caught, 
 flung into the cart, and put to death with the rest. Stephen 
 Mangin, w r ho was regarded as the ringleader, first had his 
 tongue cut out ; he was then dragged on a hurdle from the 
 prison to the place of execution, where he and his companions, 
 after being tortured, were burned at fourteen stakes arranged 
 in a circle, praising God to their last breath. One Dr. Picard, 
 a celebrated man in his day, preached a sermon on the occasion, 
 in which he declared it was necessary to salvation to believe 
 that these fourteen poor creatures were condemned to the 
 bottomless pit ; and if an angel came from heaven to say the 
 contrary, he must not be listened to ; " for God would not be 
 God, if he did not damn them eternally." 
 
 The example thus set at Meaux was imitated in other parts 
 of France 5 but, far from checking the progress of the new 
 doctrines, it served to prove the strong faith of the converts. 
 Thus Jean Chapot, w r ho had been denounced for bringing a 
 bale of heretical books from Geneva, would not give up the 
 names of the persons to whom he had sold them, though he 
 was almost torn asunder on the rack. One Mark Moreau of 
 Troyes displayed similar firmness and constancy at the stake, 
 to which he was condemned after being tortured, because he 
 refused to betray the other Lutherans in that city. Francis 
 Daugy cried out from the midst of the flames : " Be of good 
 cheer, brethren, I see heaven opening and the Son of God 
 stretching out his arms to receive me." As the Demoiselle 
 Michelle de Caignoncle was going to the stake, one of her
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 17 
 
 poor pensioners ran by her side crying : " You will never give 
 us alms again." " Yes, once more !" she said, and threw her 
 slippers to the woman, who was barefoot. One Thomas of St. 
 Paul was taken out of the flames and urged to recant. " Put 
 me back into the fire," he exclaimed : " I am on the road to 
 heaven." 
 
 Among the victims of this reign was one whose name occu- 
 pies a conspicuous place in the history of the revival of learn- 
 ing. Stephen Dolet, famous among the poets of the Renais- 
 sance, had set up a printing-press at Lyons, where he appears 
 to have been unpopular among those of his own trade, through 
 supporting the compositors who had "struck" for higher 
 wages. He had been twice condemned for heresy : once on 
 the information of the infamous Anthony Mouchi, a doctor of 
 the Sorbonne and heretic-finder to the Inquisition, who has 
 transmitted his name to posterity under the form of mouchard. 
 Dolet had escaped to Piedmont ; but yearning with that love 
 for his native country, which is so strong a characteristic of 
 the French people, he returned to Lyons, where he was speed- 
 ily arrested and carried to Paris. Here he was accused and 
 convicted of atheism, the charge being founded on his trans- 
 lation of a passage in Phto. While in prison, hourly expect- 
 ing death, he exclaimed : " My whole life has been a struggle ; 
 thank God, it is over at last."* When he was led to the 
 stake in the Place Maubert, the executioner bade him invoke 
 the Virgin and St. Stephen, his patron saint, or else his tongue 
 would be cut out and he would be burned ah" ve. Dolet repeat- 
 ed the required formula, and then was hanged and burned (3d 
 August, 1546). Dolet must not be ranked among the mar- 
 tyrs of religion : he suffered because he had offended the cler- 
 gy by his independent spirit. The doctors of the Sorbonne 
 
 * In a poem composed at this time, he says, with more of Pagan stoicism 
 than Christian fortitude 
 
 Stm, mon esprit, montrez vous de tel coenr, 
 
 Votre assurance au besoin soil connue ; 
 Tout gentil coenr, tout constant belliqueur, 
 
 Jusqu'a la mort sa foroe a maintenue. 
 
 B
 
 18 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 would willingly have forgiven liis being a printer and an athe- 
 ist, if he had not stood forward as the champion of free 
 thought. 
 
 Robert Etienne (or Stephens, as he is called by English 
 scholars) was more fortunate than Dolet. Up to the age of 
 twenty-five he continued in the Romish Church, professing a 
 doubtful sort of orthodoxy, like many other celebrated men of 
 that day ; and it is probable that he would have continued in 
 this undecided equivocal state all his life, but for the virulent 
 attacks made upon him by certain theologians, who were vio- 
 lent in proportion to their stupidity. His quarrel with the 
 Sorbonne began as early as 1523, when that same body, which 
 in 1470 had invited the first printers to Paris, took alarm at 
 the agitation of men's minds and turned fiercely against its 
 own work. The presumption of a young man, and he a lay- 
 man, to correct a text of Scripture, seemed monstrous. The 
 publication of his Latin Bibles in 1528 and 1532, and more es- 
 pecially that of the small portable Bible in 1534, aggravated 
 their hostility. But all this was as nothing to the rage ex- 
 cited by his edition of the Latin Bible in 1545, wherein he had 
 collected the notes of that learned professor of Hebrew, Fran- 
 cis Vatable. In these notes the active inquisitors of the Sor- 
 bonne found a number of heretical propositions, such as a de- 
 nial of the existence of purgatory, of the efficaciousness of con- 
 fession, and so forth. Hitherto Robert had been able to es- 
 cape the fate of his heterodox brother Dolet, through the in- 
 tervention of the king and the influence of John du Bellay and 
 others. But against this last tempest the royal authority 
 seemed powerless. The Faculty of Theology instituted pro- 
 ceedings against him, when, unhappily for him, Francis I. 
 died ; and although Robert Etienne found an equally kind 
 patron in his successor, the character of the new king was 
 more impressionable. The Sorbonne attacked him more vio- 
 lently, and foreseeing that Henry would be unable to protect 
 him, he quitted France, as Clement Marot, Olivetan, Amyot, 
 and most of the professors of the Royal College had done be-
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 19 
 
 fore him. Beza tells us that all learning was suspected, and 
 that hence many good but learned Catholics were numbered 
 among the heretics. A man was liable to be condemned for 
 not lifting his cap on passing an image (and they were at the 
 corner of almost every street), for not kneeling at the sound 
 of the Ave Maria bell, and for eating meat on fast days. 
 Clement Marot was sent to prison and narrowly escaped burn- 
 ing for eating some bacon during Lent. 
 
 Us vinrent a mon logement : 
 Lors se va dire un gros paillard, 
 
 Par la, morblcu, voila Clement, 
 Prenez-le, il a mange' le lard ! 
 
 The fasting, or not fasting, on certain days soon became a test 
 of orthodoxy. 
 
 One of the last victims of this reign was Jean Brugiere, 
 who, after several imprisonments and escapes, was taken to 
 Paris, tried, and condemned to be burned alive at Issoire (3d 
 March, 1547). He was transferred to Montferrand, where 
 Ory, the inquisitor, discussed the " real presence " with him. 
 " If you deny," said Ory, " that the body of our Lord is in 
 the host, when the priest has pronounced the sacramental 
 words, you deny the power of God, who can do everything.'" 
 " I do not deny the power of God," answered Brugiere, " for 
 AVC are not disputing whether God has power or not to do it, 
 so much as what he has done in his Holy Sacrament, and what 
 he desires us to do." When the time of his suffering came, 
 the priests pressed a crucifix to his lips, and bade him call on 
 the Virgin and saints. " Let me," he said with a smile, " let 
 me think of God before I die. I am content with the only 
 advocate he has appointed for sinners." While preparing the 
 rope or chain, the executioner slipped and f eh 1 . Brugiere, who 
 remained calm and unmoved, held out his hand to raise him. 
 " Cheer up ! M. Pouchet, I hope you are not hurt," he said. 
 When the fire was kindled, he raised his eyes to the cross and 
 exclaimed : " Oh heavenly Father, I beseech thee, for the love 
 of thy Son, that thou wilt be pleased to comfort me in this
 
 20 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 hour by thy Holy Spirit, in order that the work begun in me 
 may be perfected to thy glory and to the benefit of thy poor 
 Church." When all was over, the crowd withdrew in silence. 
 The curate of Issoire said, as he returned home : " May God 
 give me grace to die in the faith of Brugiere." * 
 
 Francis I. died slowly of a disgusting malady, the conse- 
 quence of his licentious amours. For a time his life was pro- 
 longed by the use of potent medicines ; but the opportunity 
 thus given him of redeeming the past was wasted in regrets 
 that he had not extirpated heresy, f He used often to say, if 
 we may credit Brantome, that this novelty the Reformation 
 " tended to the overthrow of all monarchy, human and di- 
 vine." Yet none of the kings who embraced the new creed 
 lost their thrones ; while the devotee Henry III., and the con- 
 verted Henry IV., both fell by orthodox daggers. The king's 
 funeral sermon was preached by Pierre du Chastel, Bishop of 
 Macon, whose orthodoxy had become suspected in consequence 
 of the attempts he had made to save Stephen Dolet. When 
 Cardinal de Tournon reproached him with this, the good prel- 
 ate made answer : " I acted like a bishop, you like a hang- 
 man." When the sermon was published, the Sorbonne hunt- 
 ed out several heretical propositions, particularly a passage 
 where the bishop, after extolling Francis as a saint of the 
 highest order, continued : " I am convinced that, after so holy 
 a life, the king's soul, on leaving his body, was transported to 
 heaven without passing through the flames of purgatory." J 
 The Sorbonne protested against this, and a deputation of 
 
 * Imberdis : Hist. Guterres Civ. 8vo. Moulins, 1840. 
 
 t A carious apology has been made for Francis I. Mezerny. answering 
 an Italian writer, who had insinuated that the king had permitted the spread 
 of heresy by taking ho heed of it, says : " Quoi done, faire six ou sept ri- 
 oureux edits pour 1'e'touffer, convoquer plusieurs fois le clerge', assembler un 
 concile provincial, depecher k toute heure des ambassades vers tous les princes 
 de la chre'tiente pour en assembler un ge'ne'ral, bruler les here"tiques par dou- 
 zaines, les envoyer aux galores par centaines, et les bannir par milliers : est- 
 ce Ik permettre, ou n'y prendre pas garde," etc. ii. p. 1038. 
 
 J P. Castellani Vita, auct. P.' Gallandio, 8vo. 1674.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW, 21 
 
 doctors went to St. Germains, where the court was staying, to 
 denounce the heretical panegyrist. They were received by 
 John de Mendoza, the first chamberlain, who desired them to 
 be quite easy in their minds : " If you had known His Majesty 
 as well as I did, you would have understood the meaning of the 
 bishop's words. The king could never stop anywhere, how- 
 ever agreeable the place might be ; and if he went to purgato- 
 ry, he only remained there long enough to look about him, 
 and was off again." Solvuntur risu tabulce ! The doctors 
 retired in confusion : there was no answering such a jest. 
 
 The character of Francis is a " mingled yarn." He had 
 great virtues, but he also had great vices. He had noble as- 
 pirations, but he often suffered them to be obscured by igno- 
 ble passions. All his life long he allowed himself to be led by 
 women. Had they all been like his sister, Margaret of Valois, 
 it would have been well for him, for France, and for religion ; 
 but they were more frequently such as the Duchess of Valen- 
 tinois, and even worse. He was ambitious, but it was more 
 for his kingdom than for himself ; he was a warrior, though 
 not equal to his rivals ; he was sumptuous and extravagant, 
 but architects and painters, historians and poets, scholars and 
 wits, were not neglected by him. He was impressionable and 
 superstitious, but he often checked the fiery zeal of the perse- 
 cutors, tried to reform the clergy in his dilettante fashion, and 
 was never bigoted except when frightened by the priests, or 
 when he fancied his personal dignity insulted. It is not won- 
 derful that Frenchmen look back to him with pride, for he 
 represents the national character in its best as well as in its 
 worst phases.
 
 22 MASSACRE or ST. .BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 HENRY II. 
 
 [1547-1553.] 
 
 Henry II. Catherine and Diana Montmorency Coronation King En- 
 ters Paris Fetes Heretic Burning New Edicts Chambres Ardentes 
 Edict of Chateaubriant Persecution at Angers, Le Puy, Velay Inqui- 
 sition Proposed Resistance of Parliament Siege and Battle of St. Quen- 
 tin Affair of the Rue St. Jacques Martyrdom of Philippa de Lunz 
 Calvin's Letter Pre Aux Clercs and Marot's Psalms Peace of Cateau- 
 Cambresis Divisions in the Paris Parliament The Mercurial of June 
 DuFaur and Du Bourg Arrested First Synod of Reformed Churches 
 Confession of Faith and Book of Discipline Edict of Ecouen The Tour- 
 nament Henry's Death. 
 
 HENBY II. was twenty-nine years of age when he ascended 
 his father's throne (31st March, 1547), his elder brother, the 
 dauphin Francis, having died almost ten years before. He 
 was rather tall, well-proportioned, fond of athletic sports, and 
 vain of his skill in the toumay a weakness that proved fatal 
 to him at last. His hair was dark, his beard short and point- 
 ed, his complexion pale, almost livid. His large, black, lively 
 eyes somewhat contradicted his melancholy, saturnine charac- 
 ter. He rarely laughed, and, according to the Venetian en- 
 voy, Matteo Dandolo, some of the courtiers declared they had 
 never seen him smile. His portraits would leave us to sup- 
 pose that he was of a mild and gentle disposition ; but bigot- 
 ry often made him cruel, and his pride was impatient of oppo- 
 sition. He could be liberal, too especially with other per- 
 sons' money. Thus he gave the notorious Diana of Poitiers 
 the renomination of all the officials whose posts had become 
 vacant by the death of his predecessors, by which she appro- 
 priated more than 100,000 crowns in the shape of fines and 
 presents. Henry possessed good natural.abilities, and a reten-
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 23 
 
 tive memory, but was uninstructed ; * he had a taste for mu- 
 sic, and spoke Italian and Spanish. He was also religious, so 
 far at least as not to ride out on Sunday until after mass. 
 Though not much distinguished in Avar, he never shrank from 
 danger, and at Landrecy conducted himself as a good captain 
 and brave soldier.f 
 
 His queen was Catherine de Medicis, one of the most enig- 
 matical personages in history. Attempts have recently been 
 made to reverse the judgment of time, and rehabilitate her 
 character, J which possibly has been painted in darker colors 
 than it deserved ; but to convert her into a martyr and vic- 
 tim, entitled to our respect and sympathy, is to write not his- 
 tory but romance. In early life she had more than one nar- 
 row escape, and her later career can hardly prevent our regret- 
 ting that she lived to be old. At her birth (so runs the sto- 
 ry) astrologers foretold that she would be the ruin of the fam- 
 ily and the place where she was married. She was according- 
 ly put into a convent ; but Avhen her uncle, Clement VII., be- 
 sieged Florence, in 1530, the council of that city proposed 
 taking her out and hanging her in a basket over the battle- 
 ments, so that she might be killed by the besieger's cannon. 
 A still worse fate was proposed by others, which, to the honor 
 of humanity, she escaped. Although the niece of a pope, she 
 was a portionless orphan, and apparently doomed to spend her 
 days in the seclusion of a cloister. Such a life would have 
 been happier for her and for France ; but it was not to be so. 
 Her marriage with Henry of Valois, in 1533, was strictly a po- 
 litical one a bond of union between Francis I. and Clement 
 VII. against the emperor. The child-bride displayed at this 
 
 * Petri Paschalii Ilistor. Fragm. Dupuy MSS. Raumer: Hist. 16th 
 and Mth Centuries, i. 201. 
 
 t Mattco Dandolo in 1542 and Lorenzo Contarini in 1551 describe Henry 
 in nearly the same terms. SeeAlberi: Relazloni deyli Ambas. Veneti. (8vo. 
 Firenze.) Ser. i. vol. iv. I860, pp.27 and GO. 
 
 J M. Capefignc has attempted this in his one-sided fashion ; but Alberi 
 extols her as a model of almost every Christian virtue. 
 
 Sismondi says she was only 13, but from her birth, 13th April, 1519, to 
 her wedding-day is 14J years.
 
 24: MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 time none of the darker characteristics which afterward dis- 
 tinguished her. She was rather below the middle height, her 
 eyes were large and sparkling they were peculiar to her fam- 
 ily,* her complexion was beautiful, her voice clear as a bell ; 
 she dressed with care, and exercised a singular fascination over 
 all who came near her. Foreigners who saw her twenty or 
 thirty years later describe her as still possessing an excellent 
 figure, w r ith a hand and arm that were the despair of the 
 sculptor. She possessed many shining qualities, which she 
 often marred by devoting them to evil purposes. In an age 
 when female purity was not held in high esteem, she preserved 
 a reputation that scandal scarce has touched. She was 
 prompt in action, fertile in resources, could read character 
 well, and had perfect control over her own feelings. She 
 never designedly made an enemy of any one ; and with her 
 sweet smile, musical voice, and courteous manner, converted 
 many an enemy into a friend. 
 
 After the disastrous battle of St. Quentin she gave the first 
 indications of her skill in public matters. The king had ur- 
 gent need of money, and as he was absent from Paris, Cather- 
 ine went to the parliament, explained the royal necessities, and 
 obtained a grant of 300,000 livres. " She thanked them in such 
 words that all wept with tenderness. . . . Throughout the 
 city men talked of nothing but her majesty's prudence." f 
 After this time (we are told) the king went more into her so- 
 ciety. During her husband's life, she possessed but little in- 
 fluence : his dislike to her at one time nearly approaching to 
 hatred. He often taunted her with her plebeian origin ; and, 
 
 * "Li occhi grossi proprj alia cnsa de' Medici." Surinno. On the ceil- 
 ing of a room in the chateau of Tnnluy, between Tonnerre and Moutbard, 
 which once belonged to the Chatillons, there was (and probably still is) a 
 figure of Catherine as Juno, with two faces : one, masculine and sinister, 
 the other with a remarkable sweetness and dignity of expression. In the 
 gallery at Eu there were two portraits (probably copies) representing her as 
 exceedingly fair : in one, the hair was of a reddish tinge ; in the other, the 
 eyebrows were light and the eyes hazel. 
 
 t Giovanni Soranzo, 14th August, 1557. Rclazioni, ;\ 8.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 25 
 
 but for the love Francis I. bore her, she would have been re- 
 pudiated and sent back to her relations. In the earlier years 
 of her wedded life she was unpopular, because she was child- 
 less, and because her uncle, Clement, who deceived all who 
 trusted in him, had evaded his engagements. By degrees, 
 however, she won the love of the people, who would willingly 
 have shed their blood for her.* 
 
 If she did not love her husband, she made a great show of 
 sincere attachment. When he was away from her with the 
 army, she would put herself and her attendants into mourning ; 
 and go in procession to various shrines to pray for his hap- 
 piness and success. She has been described as molto religiose^ 
 but that means very little in an Italian mouth. In later years, 
 it was not easy to tell when she was sincere, or when playing 
 a part. She had been trained in that school whence Machia- 
 velli derived his maxims. She thought nothing of right or 
 wrong : her principles, if such they may be termed, were pru- 
 dence, expediency, and success ; and she preferred a tortuous 
 to a straightforward policy. During the life of her husband, 
 Catherine had filled a subordinate position, having the title, 
 but little of the respect, that surrounds a queen. She never 
 had fair play, and her early years were blighted by the shadow 
 cast upon them by Diana of Poitiers. 
 
 Diana, Duchess of Valentinois, was the widaw of Louis de 
 Breze, high seneschal of Normandy, f and the most beautiful 
 woman of the age.J In her youth she had captivated the af- 
 
 * " Non si troveria persona che non si lasciassc cavare del sangue per far- 
 gli avere un figlio." Matt. Dandolo. 
 
 f His tomb, by Jean Goujon, is in Rouen cathedral. 
 
 t Brantome describes her at the age of sixty-five as being " so lovely that 
 the most insensible person could not look upon her without emotion ;" and 
 ascribes her beauty to a bouillon she took every morning composed of "or 
 potable et autres drogues que je no sais pas.'' De Thou says she made 
 Henry constant to her " philtris et magicis (ut creditur) nrtibus." A hide- 
 ous story of her bathing in blood to preserve her beauty is told of "cette 
 He'rodias " in the Melange critique de Litterature, ii. p. 113. At Dijon there 
 is a three-quarter portrait of her entirely undraped. The form is exceed-
 
 26 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 fections, such as they were, of Francis I., and even during his 
 life-time had enthralled the future king by her dazzling charms. 
 Henry used to wear her colors, black and white ; * consult her 
 on affairs of state, and permit her to dispense the ecclesiastic- 
 al patronage.f It has been said that the love between them 
 was purely platonic : the statement borne out in some de- 
 gree by the difference of their years is not, however, in ac- 
 cordance with the opinion of her contemporaries. J The king 
 at one time seems to have been quite infatuated with her. At 
 the foot of her portrait he wrote the first words of Marot's 
 version of the forty-second Psalm 
 
 As pants the hart for cooling streams, 
 
 While heated in the chase, 
 So longs my soul for thee ! 
 
 Brantoine describes her as "a good Catholic and very de- 
 vout ;" but the abbe's standard is not a high one. He adds 
 that " she hated those of the religion." This we can believe, 
 but her dislike did not extend to their possessions, by which 
 she grew enormously rich. The historian Matthieu records 
 that the people said of her : " For twelve years an old woman 
 kept heaven so close, that not a drop of justice fell on France, 
 except by stealth." She was very extravagant in her tastes, 
 to meet which added much to an already oppressive taxation. 
 
 ingly lovely, the face a long oval, the eyes dark, eyebrows delicate, hair a 
 bright auburn, and complexion fair. 
 
 * They were the emblems of mourning which widows in those days never 
 put off. 
 
 t " Particolarmente la dispensazione delli benefici ecclesiastici e in man 
 sua." Soranzo. 
 
 J " II quale 1'ha amata, cd ama c godi cosi vccchia come c." L. Contar- 
 ini(1551): Relazioni Veneti, iv. 1860, p. 78; Baschet: La Diplomatic vtfni- 
 tienne, p. 432. G. Soranzo (1558) writes to the same effect ; but M. Cav- 
 alli is of quite a contrary opinion. " Questo amore non sia lascivo, ma 
 come materno filiale." Raumer, i. p. 259. 
 
 -The pope significantly sent her a pearl necklace shortly after Henry's 
 accession. The French have recently erected a statne to her memory. It 
 ie painful to see a noble nation so deficient in self-respect as to make idols 
 of the mistresses of their sovereigns Agnes Sorel, Diana, Gabrielle d'Es- 
 tre'es, and others.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 27 
 
 The ruins of her little palace of Anet, on the Eure, near Dreux, 
 still exhibit some faint traces of the splendor and elegance of 
 its first occupant, and of its architect Philibert de 1'Orme. In 
 1547, Henry II. made her a present of the castle of Chenon- 
 ceau, a marvel of the Renaissance, built by that unfortunate 
 superintendent of finance, Jacques de Beaune-Semblan9ay. 
 In the letters patent conveying this magnificent present to his 
 favorite, the king declared it was " in consideration of the 
 great and most commendable services rendered to the crown 
 by her late husband, Louis de Breze." But when Henry died, 
 Catherine forced her to give up the chateau, and retained it 
 for herself. To decorate this building and add to its pleasure 
 grounds, Henry imposed a tax upon bells twenty livres each. 
 The people murmured loudly at this, and Rabelais, echoing 
 the popular complaints, pretended that " the king had hung 
 all the bells of the kingdom round the neck of his mare."* 
 
 One of Henry's first acts, after his accession, was to dismiss 
 his father's ministers, and place the management of affairs in 
 the hands of Montmorency, conjointly with the Duke of Guise, 
 the Cardinal of Lorraine, and Marshal St. Andre, who had 
 been the king's playmate. The constable was nearly sixty 
 years of age when he was thus recalled from the retirement 
 to which Francis I. had banished him. He was a man of 
 harsh manners, ignorant,f greedy of money, and a bigot in 
 religion ; or, perhaps it may be truer to say, vain of his de- 
 scent from Pharamond, and of being " the first Christian baron 
 of France." At times he could be exceedingly pompous and 
 haughty, and though he had seen much service, he possessed 
 but little military capacity. Some of the stories told of his 
 ferocity have a certain grim humor about them, notwithstand- 
 ing their brutality. While saying his prayers, he woxild break 
 off suddenly and order this man to be whipped, or that to be 
 hanged, or a village to be burned, and then continue (" tant il 
 
 * "An col de sa jument." Garyantua, liv. i. ch.. 17. 
 I: " II ne savait ni lire ni ecrire." Marsollicr : Hist, due da Bouillon, i.,7 
 (Paris, 1719).
 
 28 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 etait consciencieux," says Brantome) as if he had done the 
 most natural thing in the world. These paternosters had 
 passed into a proverb, during his life-time. When he marched 
 to Bordeaux, to put down an insurrection occasioned in the 
 south-west of France by the severity with which the infamous 
 gdbelle or salt-tax was levied, he told the citizens as they came 
 out to present him with the keys of the gates : " Begone with 
 your keys. I don't want them. I will open your gates with 
 mine (pointing to his cannon), and have you all hanged. I'll 
 teach you to rebel against your king." And for five weeks 
 terror reigned in the city. More than one hundred and forty 
 persons were hanged, decapitated, burned alive, or otherwise 
 put to death; not a few of them having been torn asunder 
 by horses, impaled, or broken on the wheel. " It was an ex- 
 emplary punishment," says Brantome, " but not so severe as 
 the case required." The country was laid waste far and wide 
 by an ill-disciplined, unpaid soldiery a course of treatment 
 which did not increase the loyalty or othodoxy of the inhabit- 
 ants. Montmorency was a great favorite with the king, and 
 his son Francis married Diana of Angouleme, Henry's natural 
 daughter.* 
 
 Henry II. was duly crowned at Rheims in July, 1547, and 
 the particulars recorded of the ceremony show that we have 
 fallen off in the matter of kingly pomp. On a platform erect- 
 ed before the gate of the city, there was a representation of 
 the sun, which appeared to expand like a flower. In the cen- 
 tre was a crimson heart, out of which stepped a young girl in 
 costly attire, who offered the keys of the city to the monarch. 
 Henry suffered two years to elapse before he visited his capi- 
 tal. On 16th June, 1549, all Paris was in commotion. A 
 grand procession of the notabilities of the city, both lay and 
 
 * He was named Anne, after his godmother Anne of Brittany. lie had four 
 sons and five daughters ; his sister Louisa, a widow, married Gaspard do 
 Coligny, the father of the Admiral. Louisa's first husband was the Marshal 
 <le Maillc, and her daughter Dame de Roye was mother of the Dame do 
 Koye who married Conde'.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 29 
 
 clerical, went out to meet and harangue him, according to 
 the wearisome custom of the age. The king, richly dressed, 
 rode a white horse, and was attended by the princes of the 
 blood, foreign embassadors, marshals of France, and knights 
 of the various orders of chivalry, all well mounted. The glit- 
 tering procession took its way through streets hung with tap- 
 estry, and under triumphal arches, to Notre Dame. After the 
 usual Te JDeum, Henry was escorted with boisterous acclama- 
 tions to the bishop's palace, where a royal banquet had been 
 prepared for him in the great hall. Only the princes of the 
 royal house ate at his table. On his right sat the Cardinals of 
 Bourbon and Yendome : on his left the Dukes of Vendome, 
 Montpensier, and Roche-sur-Yon. The Constable Montmoren- 
 cy, by virtue of his office, stood in front of him with a drawn 
 sword. Henry remained at the palace two days, until the sol- 
 emn entry of the queen. She was in a horse-litter profusely 
 ornamented, and at her side rode the Cardinals of Amboise, 
 Chatillon, Boulogne, and Lenoncourt. Two other litters were 
 used by the princesses, their ladies following on hackneys, and 
 attended by pages on foot. After the customary prayers at 
 Notre Dame, and the dinner at the bishop's palace, a ball was 
 given (for churchmen could dance in those days), at which the 
 " enf ants de la ville," some sixscore young men, danced with 
 the court ladies, and acquitted themselves with much grace, 
 to the evident satisfaction of Henry, who had arranged this 
 little incident. After the ball there was a supper a collation 
 of preserves and sweetmeats ; and to end the feast, the provost 
 of the merchants and the aldermen presented the queen with 
 a "buffet complet," a complete set of double silver-gilt plate, 
 adorned with fleur-de-lis and " crescents." * 
 
 The morroAV being Corpus Christi day, the provost and al- 
 dermen waited upon the king at the palace of the Tournelles, 
 to present him with a piece of plate, which the chronicles are 
 
 * These "crescents," so often found interlaced with H, are supposed to 
 be the device of Diana of Poitiers ; I am more inclined to regard them as a 
 fanciful C, to indicate Catherine.
 
 30 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 careful to tell us was of " ducat gold." It was a grand alle- 
 gorical work of art, at that time unmatched in Europe.* The 
 provost made a complimentary speech on presenting it, and 
 the king, who was delighted with the gift, thanked him in lan- 
 guage as flattering as it was gracious. This emboldened the 
 provost to invite him to follow the example of his ancestors, 
 and come to the Greve next Sunday the eve of St.* John 
 and set fire to the great tree. Henry complied with the re- 
 quest, and went, accompanied by the queen, the princes 'and 
 princesses, and kindled the fire with a torch of white wax 
 handed him by the provost. Thence he proceeded to the Ho- 
 tel de Ville, where, after the usual collation a good custom 
 which still prevails in civic entertainments the city dames 
 had the honor of dancing with the king and his court. It was 
 still light when he returned to his palace of the Tournelles. 
 
 During the month Henry remained in Paris, there were fre- 
 quent tournays in the lists, prepared by the city in the Rue 
 St. Antoine. The provost had also built a fort on the islet of 
 Louviers in the Seine, to afford the king the pleasing specta- 
 cle of a bombardment 'and a sea-fight. A bridge of boats had 
 been constructed from the island of Notre Dame to that of 
 Louviers for the passage of the troops that were to attack the 
 fort. These were harmless amusements compared with some 
 that followed. ! On Thursday, 4th July, Henry quitted the 
 Tournelles at seven in the morning, and rode in grand proces- 
 sion to the great cathedral, where he heard high mass, and 
 then went to dine at the episcopal palace, after which the royal 
 digestion was gently stimulated by the burning of some here- 
 tics. On another occasion, after a similar procession and ban- 
 quet, some more heretics were burned in the Rue St. Antoine, 
 "where the king stopped and advised them to recant." f 
 Heretic-burning was one of the popular sports of the day, at 
 which if contemporary engravings are any authority in such 
 
 * Fdlihien : Hist, de la Ville de Pans, torn. ii. liv. xx. p. 1031 (fol. 1725). 
 t Fe'libien, torn. v. p. 378.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 31 
 
 matters high-bom dames attended in full dress. It was on one 
 of these occasions (4th July, 1549), that Henry witnessed the 
 execution of a poor tailor, who had offended Diana by lan- 
 guage not unlike that which John the Baptist used with re- 
 gard to Herodias. The sufferer, we are told, turned upon the 
 king such a look of calm reproach, that he withdrew frightened 
 from the window, and for several nights after fancied that the 
 dying man haunted his bedside. 
 
 Meanwhile the reformed doctrines had been spreading fast. 
 Extending beyond the small circle of nobles, scholars, and 
 church dignitaries, by whom they were first taught and de- 
 fended, and making their way into the lower strata of society,* 
 they had become more definite and radical. The uneducated 
 shoe-maker or ploughman could not appreciate such nice dis- 
 tinctions as Margaret of Valois drew in her " Mass of Seven 
 Points," and would not have cared for such subtleties if he 
 had understood them. These simple men heard the Bible read 
 and explained to them, and the doctrines of Free Grace and 
 of the Atonement sank straight into their hearts. There was 
 very little but habit to keep the people faithful to the old 
 Church. "They are more affected," says Matthieu, uncon- 
 sciously imitating Horace, " by example fhan by instruction, 
 and estimate the truth of a doctrine by the purity of a man's 
 life." Such an example was rarely found in the Catholic cler- 
 gy. Another strong reforming agent was the misery of the 
 times. With reference to Normandy, which was better off 
 than many other provinces, a local historian writes : " The peo- 
 ple were easily seduced ; the dues and taxes were so excessive 
 that in many villages there was no assessment. The declines 
 were so high that the parish priests and their curates ran away 
 for fear of being imprisoned, and ceased to perform divine 
 service in many parishes near Caen. . . . Seeing this, the 
 
 * The intellect of the day was on the side of the Reform : " Peintrcs, orlo- 
 giers, imapiers, orfevrcs, libraires, imprimeurs, et autres, qui en leurs me- 
 tiers, ont quelque noblesse d'eynit." Flor. de Remond, an unimpeachable 
 witness.
 
 32 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 preachers from Geneva took possession of the churches and 
 chapels." * 
 
 Yet great as had been the increase of numbers, the Reform- 
 ed at this time could hardly have amounted to a hundredth 
 part of the population ; even in 1558 they were not estimated 
 at more than 400,000. The cities along the course of the 
 Rhone and those lying at the foot of the Alps were strongly 
 Calvinistic, as was also Languedoc, where probably some 
 relics of the old Albigensian spirit of revolt still lingered. 
 In this province the Romish Church was especially hateful, as 
 it had been enriched by the confiscated estates of the Al- 
 bigensian nobles.f Anjou and Normandy were divided; 
 Picardy felt the influence of Flanders, where the new doctrines 
 were extending with civil liberty. Nearly all the rest of 
 France was Catholic. The rural population was then, as now, 
 under the influence of the clergy, as also were the inhabitants 
 of the smaller country towns. These are usually a narrow- 
 minded class, an almost inevitable consequence of their isola- 
 tion, and the dull nature of their habits and occupations. 
 In Paris, the mass of the population was Catholic, the danger- 
 ous classes being especially demonstrative in their orthodoxy. 
 The progress of religious reform might have been more rapid 
 but for certain peculiarities in the state of society, which 
 made every innovation difficult. The guilds in the towns had 
 their patron saints and annual festivals. If a man adopted 
 the reformed faith, he must renounce these, and become a 
 sort of outcast among his comrades, and perhaps the severest 
 persecution he had to undergo was that he endured at the 
 hands of his fellow-workmen. "We all know how much this 
 prevails in large factories and in trade unions among us : 
 and it must have been incalculably worse at a time when the 
 
 * Bras do Bourgucville : liecherches sur Caen, 2" partie, p. 1G2 ; Ctc Hec- 
 tor dc la Fcrriore Percy : Hist, du Canton (TAthis. 8vo. Paris, 1858. 
 
 t Montluc says the nobles adopted the Reform out of a spirit of opposition. 
 "II n'etait fils de bonne maison qui ne voulut goftter de cctte reforme nou- 
 velle."
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 33 
 
 guilds were such close bodies that it was impossible to carry 
 on a trade independently of them. 
 
 Henry II., like his father, cared little about the new doc- 
 trines, so long as they were confined to the learned and the 
 well-born : but when they spread among the lower classes, he 
 determined to punish heresy as worse than treason. His 
 father's edicts were carried out with great severity ; but they 
 were so far from producing the desired effect, that the Re- 
 form spread more and more. In order to hasten its extirpa- 
 tion, a new edict was issued (19th Kovember, 1549), in which, 
 after complaining that the bishops and their suffragans pro- 
 ceeded too slowly and tenderly a statement which it is hard 
 to accept Henry established special chambers of Parliament 
 for the trial and punishment of heresy only. It was a kind 
 of lay inquisition, of which all the judges in the realm, both 
 civil and ecclesiastical, were members ex officio. These were 
 the famous chambres ardentes, so called, says Mezeray, " be- 
 cause they burned without mercy every one they convicted." 
 Rut the new edict appears to have had as little effect as its 
 predecessors, for in the following month of February the 
 king by letters patent reproached the judges for want of zeal 
 " in discharging their duty in this holy and laudable work, so 
 acceptable to God." Finally the sanguinary edict of Cha- 
 teaubriant* was issued (27th June, 1551), by which all the 
 old laws on heresy were revised and codified. In the pream- 
 ble, after recounting the efforts of his father as Avell as his 
 own to suppress heresy, Henry declared that " the error went 
 on increasing day by day and hour by hour ;" that it was 
 " like the plague, so contagious that in many large cities it 
 had infected the majority of the inhabitants, men and women 
 of every station, and even the little children had sucked in 
 the poison ;" and that he saw no hope of amendment except 
 by employing the severest measures " to overcome the willful- 
 ness and obstinacy of that wretched sect, and to purge and 
 
 * About the same time another edict forbade the faithful to send money to 
 Rome. Lacretelle. 
 
 c
 
 3-i MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 clear the kingdom of them." The magistrates were, there- 
 fore, ordered to search unceasingly for heretics, and to make 
 domiciliary visits in quest of forbidden books (among which 
 the Latin Bible of Robert Stephens was included).* This 
 edict made denunciation a trade by giving the informer one- 
 third of the heretic's confiscated property, and farther enact- 
 ed that a person acquitted of heresy in any ordinary court of 
 justice might be again tried before an ecclesiastical tribunal, 
 and vice versd, thus depriving the poor Reformer of all chance 
 of escape. Every suspected person was required to possess 
 a certificate of orthodoxy, and even intercession on behalf of 
 convicted heretics was made penal. These severities though 
 they were called " too lenient " by the pope drove the Re- 
 formed to emigrate in such numbers in spite of all attempts 
 to stop them, that a president of the Parliament of Bordeaux 
 wrote to Montmorency expressing his alarm at seeing on the 
 one hand the emigration increasing every day, and on the 
 other the great progress made by Calvinism. But the king 
 was not to be moved from his purpose. " In God's cause," 
 he said, " every one should be ready to put his shoulder to 
 the Avheel." A very proper sentiment, only we must be sure 
 that the cause is of God. When the Parliament of Paris 
 registered the edict of Chateaubriant, they compared Henry 
 to Numa, " quod Numa primus condidit templum fidei." 
 The decree was carried out with extreme severity all over the 
 kingdom, but particularly in Saumur, Lyons, Nimes, Toulouse, 
 Paris, Guyenne, Bressc, and Champagne. 
 
 In Poitou and Anjou the fires of persecution blazed 
 fiercely. Of three pastors at Angers two were burned alive, 
 and of the flock six were put to death, and thirty-four who 
 
 * On the 19th June, 1551, the papal nuncio represented to the king that 
 lie " must forbid the printing and circulation of all heretical books. ... If 
 your majesty fail to punish these damnable writers, the evil may proceed so 
 far as to defy all remedy." Raumer, i. 2G2. The severities of the Chateau- 
 briant edict proving ineffectual, it was declared by another edict (27th Mav, 
 1558), that the illegal printing of any book on religion would ba punished 
 by " confiscation dc corps ct dc bicns."
 
 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 35 
 
 fled were burned as they were caught. The Reformed medi- 
 tated taking up arms in self-defense, but were strongly ad- 
 vised by Calvin not to do so, and they obeyed. But the trial 
 of their endurance must have been severe ; for so great was . 
 the terrorism toward the end of 1556 that the Reformed 
 ceased from writing to one anothei', or if they wrote, directed 
 their letters, " To the brethren whom we dare not name lest 
 they should suffer harm." 
 
 In other parts of France, especially in the south and centre, 
 the Reformers suffered less. At Le Puy the discontent first 
 showed itself in the destruction of a venerated crucifix during 
 the Holy Week. The sacrilege was atoned for by a solemn 
 procession. The shops were closed, all work ceased, the bells 
 rang out noisily from the great belfry, and the priests in a 
 long line climbed the steep and narrow streets of that gloomy- 
 looking town, up that giant flight of one hundred and eight- 
 een steps to the grand portal of the cathedral. On this lofty 
 platform the procession halted not to admire the wide pros- 
 pect that now charms every traveler but to chant the peni- 
 tential psalms before entering that old grey temple. The 
 bells, which had ceased their monotonous din during this sol- 
 emn moment, now pealed out joyously. The priests took off 
 the emblems of mourning which they had worn until this 
 moment, and entered the cathedral, the citizens following, 
 each man in his own guild. The very next night a similar 
 outrage occurred, and as the real culprits could not be found, 
 two men were burned for heresy, their tongues having been 
 first torn out (July, 1552). But "justice" Avas not overpre- 
 cise in its nomenclature in those days, for we find two thieves 
 Avho stole a chalice put to death as heretics, and two coiners 
 of base money suffered a like fate. In 1555 two "most ras- 
 cally heretics" were burned to death in the midst of a pile of 
 " pestilent books from Geneva." Oh, those books ! how tyr- 
 anny and falsehood hate them ! 
 
 Two years later a wretched pedlar was convicted of selling 
 " the damnable writings of Calvin," and his execution order-
 
 3$ MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 ed to take place on one of the chief festivals of the Church 
 that of Corpus Christi. It was a bright morning in summer. 
 The walls of the houses were hung with drapery and the win- 
 dows filled with spectators, while the procession moved along 
 more like a Roman triumph than a Christian celebration. Mu- 
 sic led the way, the guilds followed with their insignia, next 
 came the religious brotherhood with their banners, while 
 troops of boys and girls, all dressed in white, scattered roses 
 and burned incense. The clergy in their costliest robes fol- 
 lowed next, escorting the Holy Sacrament, which the bishop 
 held up to be seen and worshiped by all. Again came 
 white-robed youths and maidens, and last of all the poor ped- 
 lar in a shirt of sacking. He was barefoot, carried a lighted 
 taper in his hand, and the rope was round his neck. Every 
 time the procession halted, the wretched man fell on his 
 knees and made the amende honorable, according to the terms 
 of his sentence. This long agony lasted five hours, until at 
 length the martyr was committed to the fire. 
 
 After this the heretics of Velay, where this mournful 
 tragedy had been enacted, grew bolder and began to assemble 
 " in open day in fields, gardens, barns, no matter where. . . . 
 Their preachers were butchers, brick-layers, publicans, and 
 other venerable doctors of that sort," says a contemporary 
 manuscript. The populace jeered and hooted at them as 
 they went to their meetings, and the Reformers retaliated by 
 fastening rosaries to their dogs' necks, and breaking the images 
 of Our Lady, calling them " useless logs." Sometimes the per- 
 sons who thus insulted the established religion were discov- 
 ered and punished, but heresy flourished nevertheless. The 
 heretics banded together and entered into a covenant of mu- 
 tual aid. They established a sort of benefit club, elected 
 leaders, collectors, and treasurers, bought arms and ammuni- 
 tion, and kept themselves ready for all eventualities. The so- 
 ciety numbered about four hundred all resolute men, and 
 strong enough to ensure freedom of worship at least for a 
 time.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 37 
 
 Confiscations, imprisonment, and death having failed to 
 purge the kingdom of heresy, the Cardinal of Lorraine 
 suggested (in 1555) a new edict, by virtue of which all per- 
 sons convicted of heresy by the ecclesiastical judges should 
 be punished according to the magnitude of the crime without 
 appeal, and proposed the appointment of Ory as " inquisitor 
 of the faith in France ;" * but bishops and Pai'liament alike 
 protested against it. The magistrates were especially offend- 
 ed at having a court set over them, before which they were 
 liable to be tried. President Seguier remonstrated to the 
 Council in language worthy of the occasion : " We abhor the 
 establishment of a tribunal of blood, where secret accusa- 
 tion takes the place of proof ; where the accused is deprived 
 of every natural means of defense, and where no judiciary 
 form is respected. Commence, Sire, by giving the nation an 
 edict which will not cover your kingdom with burning piles, 
 or be wetted with the tears and blood of your faithful sub- 
 jects." H*e suggested that instead of employing fire and 
 sword to establish and extend religion, they should try the 
 same means that had been employed to found it, namely, 
 " the revival of pure doctrine, combined with the exempla- 
 ry lives of the clergy." Henry received the advice courte- 
 ously, and the edict was not enforced. 
 
 It might be supposed that there was little to choose between 
 the Inquisition and the Chambres Ardentes ; but the differ- 
 ence was vital. From the sentence of the Inquisition, which 
 derived its authority from the Holy See, there could be no ap- 
 peal. Its victims were handed over to the secular arm, and 
 not even the king had power to come between them and 
 death.f But it was a fundamental principle of the French 
 
 * Matthew Ory, of the order of Preaching Friars, had been invited from 
 Italy by Cardinal de Tournon, and by letters patent of Francis I. (30th May, 
 153G) permitted to exercise the office of inquisitor at Lyons, in which post 
 he was confirmed by the edict of Henry II. (22d June, 1550). 
 
 f On this point seethe continuation of Longucral's Hist. Eylise Gall, by 
 J. M. Prat (4to, 1847), t. xix. p. 9G.
 
 38 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 r 
 
 law that the king alone, as supremo head of the state, had the 
 power of life and death over the subjects of the state ; and 
 that all appeals should be heard and decided by lay judges.* 
 In the next reign we shall find the great Chancellor L'llopital 
 declaring the edict of Romorantin with all its harshness and 
 restrictions to be more merciful than any copy of the Spanish 
 tribunals of blood could be. 
 
 The cardinal was not a man to be daunted by this repulse, 
 and in April, 1557, he procured a bull from Pius IV. ordering 
 the establishment of an inquisitorial tribunal of which himself 
 and the Cardinals of Bourbon and Chatillon were named di- 
 rectors, with authority to set up new courts of bishops and 
 doctors of divinity, with full power to arrest, imprison, and 
 put to death, without regard to rank or quality, all persons sus- 
 pected of heresy. The king seems to have been as eager as 
 the cardinal to obtain this bull, his ambassador at Rome being 
 ordered to press the matter as " the only means of extirpating 
 false doctrine."f The pope also sent Henry a swofd and hel- 
 *met as symbols of the war he had declared against heresy. 
 We shall see ere long to what use the sword was put. Again 
 the Parliament stood forward and resisted the establishment 
 of the irresponsible tribunal. If their motives were selfish, 
 their object was good, and farther proceedings were adjourn- 
 ed for a year. It is possible too that Henry yielded from op- 
 position of another kind, having discovered that the new doc- 
 trines had made greater progress than he had imagined among 
 the nobles, who were not the men to suffer patiently like poor 
 scholars and mechanics. A certain amount of toleration was 
 therefore conceded, until the treaty of Cateau-Cambresis made 
 persecution an international duty. 
 Although the persecution never ceased in France during the 
 
 * " L'autoritc ct soiivcrainete tnnt du roi que de sa couronnc sernit grandc- 
 ment diminue'e qimnd les sujets naturels du roi scraicnt prevenus ct entrc- 
 prU par nn official ou inquisiteur." Hist, des Martyrs, f. 463. 
 
 t Minute of Secretary Ribier, p. 677 ; Sismondi, xviii. p. ;VJ. See also 
 Belcarius : Her. Gall. Comment, p. 868.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 39 
 
 
 
 reign of Henry II., there were intervals of reaction when the 
 fires burned dim and the sword of the executioner hung idle on 
 the wall. These were usually connected with the foreign pol- 
 icy of the government a subject not within the scope of 
 these pages. It may be sufficient to mention generally that 
 as the basis of every diplomatic arrangement with the Pope, 
 the Emperor, or the King of Spain, was the extirpation of her- 
 esy, so a certain toleration accorded to heretics Avas a means 
 of showing dissatisfaction with one or all of those three pow- 
 ers. The furious outburst of persecution which occurred at 
 the period we have now reached, may be partly traced to the 
 changes that had taken place in foreign countries. Mary was 
 fiercely persecuting her English subjects, Cranmer having 
 atoned for his weaknesses by his heroic martyrdom in 1556; 
 Philip II. had succeeded to the throne of Spain and re-enact- 
 ed his father's cruel edict of 1550; and Paul IV., the restorer 
 of the Inquisition, sat in St. Peter's chair. France was at war 
 with Spain and had suffered many reverses ; Francis, Duke of 
 Guise, was unsuccessful in Italy, where Alva, as yet unstained 
 by blood, was carrying all before him ; while on the northern 
 frontier the Constable Montmorency tried in vain to make 
 head against the impetuous attacks of Emmanuel Philibert 
 of Savoy, who commanded the Spanish troops in Flanders. 
 Philibert laid siege to St. Quentin, where Admiral Coligny 
 held out stubbornly against overwhelming odds. Montmo- 
 rency marched to the relief of the city and re-enforced the gar- 
 rison by 500 soldiers, under the command of Andelot, but suf- 
 fered a bloody defeat (10th August, 1557) a few hours after- 
 ward, when his cavalry was routed and his infantry cut to 
 pieces. He himself was wounded and made prisoner, along 
 Avith Marshal St. Andre. So complete was the rout, so crush- 
 ing the defeat the severest that France had received since 
 the battle of Agincourt that the Parisians trembled lest the 
 conqueror should appear before their gates. More than once 
 has that beautiful city been spared by the procrastination of 
 a victorious enemy, and the fear of driving a gallant nation to
 
 -10 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 extremity. The fortress of St. Quentin fell on the 27th 
 August, Coligny and his brother Andelot being made prison- 
 ers. 
 
 Such national disasters were regarded as a judgment from 
 heaven, and the evangelicals were made the scape-goats. 
 Priests went into the pulpit and inflamed the passions of their 
 ignorant hearers by the coarsest vituperations. " God is pun- 
 ishing us," they shouted, " because we have not avenged his 
 honor," and the populace yielding to the superstitious impulse 
 caught up the cry.* They soon had an opportunity of putting 
 into practice the lesson they had been taught. On the night 
 of the 4th September, 155 7, f a number of adherents of the 
 new religion, amounting to three or four hundred, assembled 
 at a private house in the suburbs on the left bank of the riv- 
 er for the purpose of united worship. The men belonged 
 chiefly to the upper classes, and the women were of good fam- 
 ilies, some of them being ladies in attendance on the queen. J 
 The service had been conducted in quiet, the Lord's-supper 
 Administered, and the congregation was about to separate when 
 they found the street the Rue St. Jacques blockaded by a 
 furious mob bearing torches and armed with every weapon 
 they could catch up. "Death to the traitors ! down with the 
 Lutherans !" they shouted, as they* rushed to the door and 
 tried to force an entrance. They were kept at bay by a few 
 resolute gentlemen who, by their rank, were entitled to carry 
 swords, while the women and the elders sought to escape 
 through the garden which opened into the fields. But every 
 
 * "Existimant omnis publicse cladis, omnis popularis incommodi Chris- 
 tianos esse causam. Si Tibcris ascendit in mccnia, si Nilus non asccndit in 
 arva, siccelum stetit, si terra movct, si fames; si lues, statim Cliristianos 
 ad leonem !" Tcrtullian, AjioL c. 40. 
 
 t Pasquier : Lettres, p. 195 (ed. Arras. 1598) says it happened in August, 
 three days after the battle of St. Laurent, before the walls of St. Quentin, 
 which was taken six weeks later. But these letters were written for effect 
 many of them some time after the events they record. Drion (Chronol.) 
 says " May." 
 
 t Her favorite, Madame de Crussol, Duchess of Usez, held the Reformed 
 opinions.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 41 
 
 bntlet "was guarded and all opportunity of flight cut off. 
 What was to be done ? Death, a horrible death at the hands 
 of the mob, appeared imminent. The only chance of safety 
 lay in seeking the protection of the magistrates before the 
 city gates were opened, and all the ruffianism of Paris was let 
 loose upon them. With this intent a few gallant gentlemen 
 volunteered to attempt to reach the Hotel de Ville, the others 
 remaining to guard the helpless women and old men. Sud- 
 denly the door of the house was thrown open and the desper- 
 ate little band rushed out and cut its way through the crowd 
 with the loss of only one of their number. Throughout the 
 long night those left behind waited in trembling apprehension 
 for the dawn. They prayed to God for support, and some- 
 times one of their number would read a consolatory chapter 
 from the Bible, the yells of the populace frequently drowning 
 the voice of the reader. 
 
 Day-light came at last, but it brought no relief. The doors 
 were forced, and the unarmed worshipers would have been 
 torn to pieces, when a detachment of the city guard arrived* 
 and took them off to prison, saving many of them for a still 
 cruder death. As the helpless captives were dragged through 
 the streets, the mob reviled and cast mud at them. On reach- 
 ing the Chatelet, they were thrust into filthy dungeons from 
 which the vilest criminals had been removed to make room for 
 them; where the light of day hardly penetrated, and where 
 " they could neither sit nor lie down, they were so crowded." * 
 
 The Reformed Church of Paris was in a pitiable state, so 
 many of its members being in peril of their lives. Extra- 
 ordinary prayers were offered up in every family for the de- 
 livery of the martyrs, and a remonstrance drawn up by the 
 elders was presented to the king, who put it aside unnoticed. 
 But (strange to say !) there was no eager haste to punish the 
 prisoners any farther, the example of their seizure having 
 frightened many back to orthodoxy. But orthodox agitators 
 
 * Bonnet: Lettres de Gi/nn, ii. 125, note. Letter from Fr. Morel. The 
 prisoners were 120 to 130 in number.
 
 42 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 were busily at work to keep up the popular excitement and 
 prevent the escape of the captives. The heretics and all who 
 would shelter them were vehemently denounced from the pul- 
 pit, and inflammatory placards were stuck on every Avail. A 
 verse from one of these, posted all over Paris on Christmas 
 day, 1557, will show the style in which the popular fury was 
 stirred against the " Lutherans." 
 
 Paris, en ce temps froiduroux 
 Que les nuits sont longues et fraiches, 
 Tu dois bien veiller stir tous ceux 
 Qui font aupres de toi des prechcs. 
 Si, de bref, tu ne les depeches, 
 Jamais paix n'auront les chreticns ; 
 Car ceux que tu souffrcs et liens 
 Tecauseront tant de courroux, 
 Que tu diras, toy et les tiens : 
 Montagncs, tombez dessus nous. 
 
 When the excitement had abated, and the affair was almost 
 forgotten, the prisoners of the Rue St. Jacques were brought 
 to trial. Their lives were forfeited by the mere fact of their 
 presence at an unlawful assembly, and the alternative of re- 
 cantation or death was presented to them; but they would 
 not yield an inch. They found that man's weakness was 
 God's strength. 
 
 Among the captives was Philippa de Lunz, a woman of 
 good family, a widow, and only twenty-two years old. She 
 was interrogated several times, but her answers were such as 
 to destroy all hope of pardon. On the 27th September, 1558, 
 more than a year after her imprisonment, she was led out to 
 death, in company with Nicholas Clinet or Olivet, a school- 
 master, and Taurin Gravelle, an advocate, both elders in the 
 Reformed Church. Before they were placed in the tumbrel 
 that was to carry them to the stake in the Place Maubert, 
 they were to have their tongues cut out, to prevent their pray- 
 ing aloud or addressing the people on the road to death. The 
 two men suffered this cruel mutilation without a groan. 
 Turning to Philippa, the executioner roughly bade her put out 
 her tongue. She did so immediately. Even he was struck by
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 43 
 
 her intrepidity : " Come ! that's well, truande? he said ; "you 
 are not afraid then?" "As I do not fear for my body," she 
 replied, "why should I fear for my tongue?" The knife 
 flashed an instant before her eyes and her tongue fell to the 
 crround; She Avas then thrust into the cart at the feet of her 
 
 O 
 
 two companions and bound to the same chain. Before leaving 
 the prison she had taken off her widow's weeds and put on 
 the best garments left her, saying : " Why should I not re- 
 joice ? I am going to meet my husband." 
 
 Around a pile of faggots in the Place Maubert there had 
 collected all that was vilest in Paris, dancing and calling out 
 for blood, just as some two hundred years later a similar mob 
 danced round the victims of the guillotine. The king is said 
 to have been a spectator of the horrible scene that followed. 
 It was Philippa's fate to look on while her two companions 
 were burned to death to witness their horrible convulsions, 
 and hear the shrieks which the mounting flames extorted from 
 them. But even this did not shake her faith, which found 
 support in earnest prayer. And now her turn had come ; the 
 executioners roughly seized her with their strong arms, 
 shamefully tearing her clothes, and held her over the hot ashes 
 until her feet were burned to the bone. Then with a horrible 
 refinement of cruelty the savage torturers hung her head- 
 downward in the fire, until the scalp Avas burned off and her 
 eyes scorched out. After that she was strangled, and heaven 
 received another saint. 
 
 A few days later four more of the prisoners suffered death 
 at the same place. One of them, as he opened the shutter 
 of his cell on the morning of his execution, that he might be- 
 hold the sunrise once more, exclaimed : " How glorious it will 
 be when we are exalted above all this." 
 
 One of Calvin's noblest letters was written at this time to 
 the prisoners still remaining in the Chatelet, and more partic- 
 ularly to the women, whom he exhorted to imitate the strength 
 and faith of Madame de Lunz : " If men are weak and easily 
 troubled," he said, " the weakness of your sex is still greater,
 
 44 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 according to the order of nature. But God, that worketh in 
 weak vessels, will show forth his strength in the infirmity of 
 his people. . . . He who sets xis in the battle supplies us from 
 time to time with the necessary arms, and gives us skill to use 
 them. . . . Consider how great were the excellences and 
 firmness of the women at the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 When the apostles had forsaken him, they still remained by 
 him with marvelous constancy, and a woman was his messen- 
 ger to inform them of his resurrection, which they could nei- 
 ther believe nor understand. If he so honored them at that 
 time and gave them such excellence, do you think he has less 
 power now, or that he has changed his mind ?" Calvin show- 
 ed that his was not a barren sympathy by making every effort 
 to induce the cantons of Berne and Zurich and the German 
 princes to intercede in behalf of the poor prisoners. Their 
 intercession prevailed to save such as remained alive. The 
 doors of the Chatelet were thrown open : the yoiinger prison- 
 ers were transferred to monasteries from which they easily es- 
 caped ; while others obtained a full pardon after making an 
 ambiguous confession of faith before the bishop's officers. 
 Pope Paul IV. complained bitterly of this moderation, and de- 
 clared that he was not astonished at the bad state of affairs in 
 France, now that the king trusted more in the support of her- 
 etics than in the protection of heaven.* 
 
 Not only did the severe measures we have described fail of 
 their effect, after the first alarm had passed away, but the re- 
 formed doctrines made so many new converts that Beza, writ- 
 ing to his friend Bullinger about this time, declared " that the 
 king must either destroy entire cities, or make some conces- 
 sion to the truth."f The severity exercised upon the mar- 
 tyrs of the Rue St. Jacqiies had overleaped itself. A contem- 
 porary historian and a Romanist says, that such mournful 
 sights disturbed many simple souls, who could not forbear 
 
 * Raynald : Ann. Eccles. ad an. 1557 ; Sarpi : Condi. Trent, lib. v. No. 33. 
 t " Ant integras nrbes absumere aut vcritati locum aliquem concedere." 
 Baum : T^elen Bern's, i. p. 453.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 45 
 
 thinking that the men and women who could undergo such 
 tortures with calmness and resolution must have truth on 
 their side, and he adds with touching simplicity, "They 
 could not contain their tears, their hearts wept as well as their 
 eyes." * 
 
 The summer of 1558 witnessed a singular protest against 
 the persecuting and obstructive policy of the Church. It as- 
 sumed a form, and was carried out with a pertinacity and a 
 malice peculiarly French. Clement Marot, the earliest of 
 French poets and a favorite of the late king, had translated 
 some of the Psalms of David into verse, which immediately 
 became popular. They sold faster than they could be print- 
 ed. Francis I. quoted them on his dying-bed,f and by his 
 order the translator had presented a copy of his first series of 
 thirty to Charles V., who rewarded him for it and pressed 
 him to continue it.J The ladies and gentlemen of the French 
 court took a strange delight in singing them, but not always 
 to the most appropriate tunes. The martyrs of Meaiix had 
 sung them at the stake. Henry II., when dauphin, was foiid 
 of singing them ; and on one occasion, when recovering from 
 an illness, he had them chanted to him by his choristers, 
 with the accompaniment of " lutes, viols, spinnets, and flutes." 
 His favorite was the 128th Psalm: Blessed is every one that 
 feareth the ion?, which he is reported to have set to music. 
 Catherine had her favorite : Lord, rebuke me not in thine 
 anger ; that of Diana of Poitiers was the solemn De Profun- 
 dis (Ps. 120). The King of Navarre selected the 43d: Judge 
 me, O Lord ; and even Charles IX., at a much later period, 
 used to repeat, As pants the hart ; probably because of its allu- 
 sion to the chase. The Protestants of France sang them at all 
 times, and as neither the music nor the words could be con- 
 demned as heretical, they were sung Avhen no other mode of 
 
 * Florimond de Remond : Hist, des Ufartyrs, fol. 395. 
 t Strada : De Bella J3ely. dec. i. lib. 3. 
 J Marot translated fifty, Beza the remainder. 
 
 Somewhat later (in 15GI) the Sorbonne formally declared the singing 
 of Psalms not contrary to the Cathojic faith.
 
 46 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 divine worship was practicable. Thus when the citizens took 
 their evening walk in the Pre aux Clercs,* the Hyde Park of 
 those days, some student or Reformer would strike up one of 
 Marot's Psalms, in which they would all join. Many may 
 have done this out of pure bravado, but others out of love for 
 the truths they contained. The King and Queen of Navarre 
 were fond of that pleasant promenade by the river-side, and 
 took delight in listening to this multitudinous singing. 
 
 These things cease to move us now, not because we are less 
 religious, but because we are less demonstrative, and there is 
 no opposition to force us into an external display of our faith. 
 There have always been occasions when large bodies of men 
 have tried to conceal or perhaps to alleviate their excitement 
 by singing. Cromwell's troopers thundered out a Psalm as 
 they marched up the breach at Dunkirk, and the Girondins 
 sang the Marseillaise as they stood at the foot of the guillo- 
 tine. 
 
 But there was something more than this in the sudden pop- 
 ularity which Marot's Psalms acquired among all classes. It 
 was the revival of an old Christian custom ; it popularized a 
 new mode of worship. In the earlier and purer days of the 
 Church, singing had been congregational ; but it had long 
 since become the business of priest and chorister solely. The 
 old tunes had grown obsolete, and airs wqdded to mundane 
 songs had been introduced into the Church service. "The 
 Miserere is chanted to a jig-tune," said a Catholic writer. 
 Other influences, many of them sacerdotal, were at work to 
 widen the interval between the priest and his flock to reduce 
 public worship into a sort of theatrical performance in which 
 he and his colleagues were the actors, and the others the spec- 
 tators and listeners. But if the people did not sing at church, 
 there is ample evidence that they sang at home ; and it is prob- 
 ably owing to this circumstance that we possess so many part- 
 
 * The Pre anx Clcrcs exists no longer, not even in name. It was a pleas- 
 ant meailow on the banks of the Seine, between the abbey of St. Germain 
 dcs Pre's and the Invalides.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 47 
 
 songs in our old music-books. It is one of the glories of the 
 Reformation that it gave a religious character to these songs. 
 Luther and Calvin both saw how music might be employed to 
 advance the truth, and neglected no opportunity of recom- 
 mending the study of singing. Luther had but a poor opin- 
 ion of a school-master who could not sing, and ranked music 
 next to theology. " It has been commanded unto all men," he 
 said, " to propagate the word of God by every possible means, 
 not merely by speech, but by writing, painting, sculpture, 
 jisalms, sonys, and musical instruments." He composed many 
 tunes : these and the chorales of Senf el penetrated into France, 
 and German airs form the basis of a large part of the French 
 hymnal. Calvin took no less pains at Geneva, and the tunes 
 composed by his desire were distributed by thousands, each 
 part being printed separately to facilitate their execution. 
 Even Catholics were to be found using these Protestant scores 
 a practice which Florimond de Remond, the historian of 
 heresy, bitterly condemns : " The wise world stupidly wise 
 in this which judges of things by outward appearance only, 
 praised this kind of amusement, not seeing that under this 
 chant, or rather new enchantment, a thousand pernicious nov- 
 elties crept into their souls." * The time came, however, when 
 even psalm-singing was interdicted. At Bourges, in April, 
 1559, the Reformed began to hold open-air meetings, similar to 
 those at Paris, to the great annoyance of the orthodox, who 
 caused proclamation to be made forbidding the singing of 
 Psalms under pain of death, and a gibbet was erected, in ter- 
 rorem, in the middle of the promenade (the Pre Fichault) ; 
 but even that grim monitor failed to terrify the Reformers into 
 submission. In the Velay, the opposition was equally deter- 
 mined. The very day an order was issued forbidding the 
 people to sing the Psalms of that " sacrilegious apostate," Ma- 
 rot, the heretics, " fearing neither God, pope, king, law, nor 
 justice, sang them ah 1 the louder."f 
 
 * Hist. Heres. f. 1033. 
 
 t " Criant par depit comnie cricurs d'oublies." MS. de Medids.
 
 48 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 Meanwhile both Franco and Spain had grown weary of the 
 war, and a treaty of peace was concluded at Cateau-Cambre- 
 sis (3d April, 1559), France agreeing to give up all her con- 
 quests. Indeed that country was exhausted, and her treasury 
 empty, and there was little hope that the people would submit 
 to additional taxation. Philip II. on his part was equally 
 glad to put an end to hostilities, which prevented him from 
 turning his attention to the progress of heresy in the Low 
 Countries. The treaty was regarded by the Reformers as 
 " disgraceful and injurious to the kingdom," and with our 
 subsequent knowledge we may add, full of danger to the Re- 
 formers themselves. During the negotiations, which lasted 
 from January to April, the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal 
 of Lorraine had sought a private interview with the Spanish 
 Minister Granvelle, Bishop of Arras, at Peronne, in which 
 they expressed their devotion to Spain, and entered into a 
 league for the extirpation of heresy in Navarre, France, and 
 the Netherlands.* What after-thought there may have been 
 in the cardinal's mind is uncertain, but he had probably hoped 
 for the support of Spain in the ambitious views of his family 
 upon the crown of France. 
 
 The treaty had been concluded in opposition to the advice 
 of the Guises, who consequently fell into disgrace at court, 
 while the constable triumphed. Henry seems, indeed, never 
 to have liked the Lorraine family, and his feeling toward 
 them is strongly marked in a letter he wrote to Montmorency, 
 then a prisoner : " I have been constrained to create the Duke 
 of Guise lieutenant-general; also affairs have now compelled 
 me to conclude the marriage of the dauphin with the duke's 
 niece (Mary Stuart), and likewise to do many other things. 
 
 * This probably is what the English commissioner alludes to, when writ- 
 ing in January, 1559, he says: "There was an appointment made between 
 the late pope, the King of Spain, and the French king, fur the joining of 
 their forces together for the suppression of religion." Forbes : Full View of 
 the Public Transactions in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, i. p. 196 (fol. Lond. 
 1740).
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 49 
 
 Time, however, m'en fera raison" * By the treaty the Cardi- 
 nal of Lorraine lost three sees, and he swore to be avenged of 
 Montmorency and the admiral. In this he so far succeeded, 
 with the help of Diana of Potiers, who worked upon the king 
 by stories of the increase of heresy, that the persecution which 
 had been suspended by the war (except in the affair of the 
 Rue St. Jacques), broke out again, and was conducted with 
 more regularity. 
 
 The Parliament of France was originally, like the Parlia- 
 ment of England, a national council with functions both legis- 
 lative and judicial.f In the course of time a separation of 
 classes and powers took place : in England the judicial power 
 fell into disuse, and the Parliament became a mere legislative 
 body ; in France, the Parliament lost its legislative authority, 
 and subsided into a high court of justice of last resort, and a 
 court of revenue. It consisted of a fixed number of church- 
 men, lay peers, and councillors all equal in voice and author- 
 ity. Each province had its independent Parliament, over 
 which that of Paris asserted, but was rarely able to enforce, its 
 authority. In the early days of the new religious movement, 
 the Parliament of Paris was hardly less hostile than the Sor- 
 bonne to the new doctrines ; but as time rolled on and the 
 principles of the Reform were better known, the Parliament 
 became divided in opinion. As in ah 1 similar bodies, there 
 were three parties : those who sympathized with the religious 
 reform movement, those who were opposed to it, and those 
 who, either from policy or coldness of temper, floated between 
 the two. To this party belonged the elder De Thou, Harlay, 
 and Seguier, all members of the Tournelle. On the last 
 Wednesday in April, 1559, Bourdin, the king's proctor-gener- 
 al, made a proposition that as the laws were enforced so irreg- 
 ularly the Grand Chamber burning heretics implacably, the 
 
 * Vauvilliors, i. p. 89. 
 
 t During the period embraced in this volume there were only eight Par- 
 liaments, those of Paris, Toulouse, Grenoble, Bordeaux, Dijon, Rouen, Aix, 
 Rennes. 
 
 D
 
 50 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 Tournelle only banishing them, to the great scandal of justice 
 the two courts should come to some arrangement by which 
 uniformity of action would be insured. Each judge gave his 
 opinion, and there was naturally great diversity of sentiment. 
 Arnauld du Ferrier proposed the convocation of a general 
 council for the settlement of all religious controversies, and that 
 in the mean time all measures against the Reformed should be 
 suspended. This learned lawyer, like many others of his day, 
 not only did not appear to contemplate the possibility of the] 
 Romish and the Reformed religions existing quietly side by 
 side in France, but thought the differences between the two 
 were so trifling that union might be restored by a few mutual 
 concessions. Arnauld's proposal was supported by a majority 
 of the meeting,* and, among others, by Anthony Fumee, 
 whose father and grandfather had filled the highest judicial 
 offices. He not only vindicated the Calvinistic interpretation 
 of the doctrine of the Lord's-supper, but advised an address 
 to the king, praying him to summon a general council, in which 
 all erroneous doctrines should be exposed, and all heresies con- 
 demned; and that the persecution of those who hold hetero- 
 dox opinions upon secondary points should cease. The mat- 
 ter began to look so serious that the Duchess of Valentinois 
 urged Henry II. " to hang half a dozen at least of the coun- 
 cillors as heretics," and show Spain (with whom the marriage- 
 treaty between Philip II. and Isabella was going on) that he 
 was firm in the faith, and would not tolerate heresy. The Car- 
 dinal of Lorraine strongly advised a similar course; while 
 Marshal Vieilleville tried to dissuade the king : " Sire," he 
 said, " if you think of going to play the theologian or inquisitor, 
 we must get the cardinal to come and teach us how to hold 
 our lances in the tournament." f But the churchman prevail- 
 ed ;, not, however, until the king was threatened with the an- 
 ger of God if he refused a Mercurial against those free-think- 
 ing lawyers. These Mercurials were assemblies of the Parlia- 
 
 * Lft vraie Hist, de la Proc. contre Du Bourg. : Mem. de Conde, i. 220. 
 t Mem. de Vieilleville, p. 705 (Pantheon Litt.)
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 51 
 
 ment held on Wednesday (dies Mercurii}, at which the mem- 
 bers of that body were censured for any thing they might 
 have done contrary to their dignity or duty. The word was 
 afterward extended to the censure or judgment itself. On 
 the 15th June, 1559, "after dinner" (about noon) Henry, at- 
 tended by the Cardinals of Lorraine and Guise, unexpectedly 
 entered the great hall of the Augustines' convent, where the 
 sittings of Parliament were temporarily held, just as the coun- 
 cillors were discussing the means of settling a uniform juris- 
 prudence in heretical matters.* After taking his seat, the 
 king said : " I desire to secure the repose of my kingdom, 
 and the maintenance of religion. Having concluded a peace 
 abroad, I will not have it disturbed at hqnie by religious dis- 
 orders. For this reason I am come among you, that I may 
 hear what is your opinion about the present religious differ- 
 ences, and know why you have not carried out my edicts con- 
 straining the judges to condemn all Lutherans to death." 
 T'ndismayed by the king's presence, the moderate party de- 
 fended what they had done. Louis du Faur acknowledged 
 that the present troubles were caused by religion, but he add- 
 ed : " "We must trace them back to their source, lest we be 
 exposed to the reproach the prophet Elijah made to King 
 Ahab : ' I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's 
 house.' " Anne du Bourg was equally bold in his language : 
 " There are certain crimes," he said, " that deserve to be pun- 
 ished without mercy ; such are .adultery, blasphemy, and per- 
 jury, which are countenanced daily by men of disorderly life 
 and infamous amours. But of what do men accuse those who 
 are handed over to the executioner ? of treason ? . . . . They 
 never omit the name of the king from their prayers. What 
 revolt have they headed ? what sedition have they stirred up ? 
 What ! because they have discovered, by the light of Holy 
 Scripture, the great vices and the scandalous offenses of the 
 
 * The date is uncertain ; some give the 10th March, but the discussion 
 did not begin until the 26tli April. Felice says the 10th August, which 
 must be a misprint;
 
 52 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 Roman Church because they have petitioned for a reform* 
 is that an offense worthy of the stake ?" The king trembled 
 with anger, but listened with pleasure to the first president, 
 Gilles le Maistre, who advised him to treat the new sectarians 
 as the Albigenses had been treated by Philip Augustus, who 
 burned six hundred of them in one day ; and the Vaudois by 
 Francis I., who killed them in their own houses, or stifled them 
 in the caverns to which they had fled for refuge.* Henry 
 closed the sitting by reprimanding the judges for their laxness 
 in administering the laws against heresy, and ordered Du Faur 
 and Du Bourg to be arrested the first for having spoken of 
 Ahab, the second for condemning adultery, both of which the 
 king applied to himself. Montgomery, captain of the royal 
 archers, seized the two lawyers and conveyed them to the Bas- 
 tille. This was the same Montgomery who was shortly to be 
 the innocent cause of Henry's death, and some years later to 
 die on the scaffold as a heretic and traitor. The two prison- 
 ers were put into separate dungeons, and denied the use of pa- 
 per, ink, and books, or communication with their friends. 
 The king, unwilling to leave them to be tried before an ordi- 
 nary tribunal, appointed a commission to hear and condemn 
 them, unless they retracted, and swore he would have them 
 burned before his eyes. 
 
 Da Bourg's arrest was not a solitary act of persecution. 
 By the treaty of Cateau-Cambfesis, Henry and Philip had 
 bound themselves to maintain the Catholic worship inviolate, 
 to assemble a general council, and to extinguish heresy in 
 their respective dominions. f To William of Orange, rightly 
 surnamed the Taciturn, then a hostage for the due execution 
 of the treaty, the king imparted the secret of these negotia- 
 tions with the King of Spain. | William listened, but held 
 
 * Throckmorton to Queen, 19th June, 1559, gives an account of this re- 
 markable sitting, in which the Cardinal of Lorraine displayed his usual vio- 
 lence of language. Forbes: Full View, i. p. 12G. 
 
 t Abbe Caveyrac says ; "It was his fixed intention to destroy the Protest- 
 ants." Apologie de Louis XIV. p. 33. . 
 
 t Groen van Prinsterer : 'Archives, Ser. i. 1841, vol. i. p. 34. The plot
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 53 
 
 his peace, and it was probably his knowledge of this project- 
 ed massacre delayed for thirteen years that converted him 
 into the liberator of the Netherlands. 
 
 The violence with which the storm of persecution raged 
 may be conceived from a few isolated examples. The edicts 
 were enforced with such vigor that the Reformed feared to 
 meet in groups of more than twenty or thirty at a time. In 
 some places they ceased altogether to assemble, or else they 
 met in the woods and fields, in caves and quarries. Great 
 mystery was used in summoning the faithful together. On 
 the evenings when there was to be a sermon, a man would go 
 through the streets and whistle the signal. If there was rea- 
 son to fear the watch or patrol, the sumnioner carried a lan- 
 tern of a peculiar form, and passed along without uttering a 
 word. The worshipers crept muffled up to the place assign- 
 ed, where they sang in -a supressed voice one of Marot's 
 Psalms, prayed, and then separated, often without any ser- 
 mon. It was this meeting by night which gave a substance 
 to the licentious and calumnious stories told of the Reformed.* 
 
 The Parliament of Bordeaux received instructions to hold 
 the "grand jours," or special assize, at Saintes, not that they 
 might listen to the grievances of the people, as was the an- 
 cient custom, but to operate on a large scale against heresy. 
 When ah 1 the prisons in Saintonge were crammed, the rest of 
 the heretics were, sent to Bordeaux. In order to remove the 
 odium under which they labored, the Reformers of France re- 
 solved to draw up a confession of their faith, and lay it before 
 the king, begging Anthony of Navarre, Governor of Gui- 
 enne, to present it, adding that they were prepared, if neces- 
 sary, " one and all to seal their faith with their blood." But 
 Anthony objected, and like a true man of the world as he 
 
 was first made known in the Apology published by- the Prince of Orange. 
 Alva said that Henry had made peace, "para que el quedasse la mano li- 
 !>era para remediar lo." Gachard, ii. p. 181 ; Raynald : Ann. Eccles. 
 
 * Du Pnis, a Jacobite priest, asserted " qu'a leur pruche les fcmmes s'aban- 
 donnaient," etc. See Flocquet : Hisi.pa.rl. de Normandie, ii. p. 3G5.
 
 54 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 always was, advised them to keep quiet and let the storm 
 blow over. It was in circumstances such as these in the 
 " midst of burning piles, and gibbets erected in every corner 
 of the city" that the first Protestant synod met in Paris 
 (May, 1559), and continued sitting four days. Francis Mo- 
 rel, sire of Collonges, a gentleman by birth, and now pastor 
 of the metropolitan church, was their president. Not more 
 than a dozen provincial churches there is a slight discrep- 
 ancy in the numbers sent deputies ; but, being earnest men, 
 they soon succeeded in giving French Protestantism the 
 organization which it has preserved, with few trifling excep- 
 tions, until the present day. The church in Paris had been 
 the first to organize itself with pastor, elders, and deacons,* 
 and the example w T as speedily followed by many provincial 
 cities ; but these churches were all isolated, and it was felt 
 that by uniting into one body, they would be stronger against 
 their enemies, as well as richer in the divine graces. 
 
 In thus assembling together the deputies carried their lives 
 in their hands, for, by an edict then in force, all preachers 
 found in the kingdom were to be put to death. But, unde- 
 terred by peril, they drew up a Confession of Faith and a 
 Book of Discipline, each consisting of forty articles. In the 
 former the doctrine of non-resistance was laid down with a 
 thoroughness somewhat startling. Thus the fortieth article 
 says : " We must obey the laws and ordinances, pay tribute, 
 tax, and other dues, and bear the yoke of subjection with good 
 and hearty will, even should the magistrates be infidels. . . . 
 Furthermore, we detest those who would reject superiori- 
 ties, set up a community of goods, and overthrow the order 
 of justice." The synod clenched these doctrines by reference 
 to Matthew xvii. 24, and Acts vi. 17-19. Calvin's opinions 
 on this point are briefly shown in one of his sermons deliv- 
 ered three or four years later : " All principalities are types of 
 
 * This organization was to a great extent the work of a gentleman of 
 Maine, by name La Ferriere, who had removed to Paris to escape religious 
 surveillance (1555).
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 55 
 
 the kingdom of Jesus Christ ; we must hold them precious, 
 and pray God to make them prosper." * Yet the ecclesias- 
 tical constitution which he drafted was entirely republican in 
 form, every thing being made to depend upon the votes of 
 the people, who elected a consistory (or kirk-session), which 
 chose the pastor, whose final appointment rested on the deci- 
 sion of the congregation. A certain number of churches 
 formed a conference or presbytery which met twice a year, 
 and in which each church was represented by the pastor and 
 one elder. These presbyteries united into provincial synods, 
 and above them all presided a general assembly, the supreme 
 court of legislation and appeal, composed of two pastors and 
 two elders from each provincial synod. 
 
 There can be little doubt that this organization of the Re- 
 formed churches added another element of strife to the con- 
 test between the two religions. The Romish clergy natu- 
 rally abhorred it, as a sign of the increasing power and bold- 
 ness of the Reformed party ; while the statesmen of the day 
 could not but look upon it with suspicion as a sort of impe- 
 rium in imperio a dangerous rival to the civil power, and 
 savoring of rebellion, inasmuch as it ignored the headship 
 alike of pope and king, acknowledging that of God alone. 
 Men did not take the trouble to examine closely into the 
 causes of their dislike : they felt instinctively that such an 
 organization proclaimed the sovereignty of the people, and 
 that the doctrine might easily be extended from spiritual to 
 temporal matters. The subsequent history of the chief Cal- 
 vinistic churches shows that this instinctive hatred was not 
 altogether unreasonable. In Switzerland and Holland, in 
 England and in North America, wherever this organization 
 has been able to control the political power, a republic has 
 followed. These are indeed the parts of the world where 
 liberty flourishes most, and for this noble fruit we may well 
 love the tree that bore it ; but in the sixteenth century, the 
 
 * Calvin: Serin, sur Timot/tee, p. C5 (4to 1563).
 
 56 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 tendency of society was toward despotism, not toward self- 
 government ; and the statesmen of Europe must be excused if 
 they were not clear-sighted enough to see that the new move- 
 ment must inevitably succeed, or wise enough to become the 
 leaders and controllers of the popular feelings. And so far it 
 may be doubted whether Calvin's influence in France was 
 altogether for good, and whether the Reformed Church would 
 not have struck deeper root in that country, if its organiza- 
 tion had been less antagonistic. By separating itself entirely 
 from antiquity, it risked a doubtful good for a certain evil. 
 As church-government is not a matter of faith but of disci- 
 pline, those have much to answer for who array Christians in 
 hostile ranks on a secondary matter. 
 
 The news of this synod and the merciful tendency of the 
 Parliament inflamed Henry's orthodoxy to such an extent that 
 he issued an edict (June, 1559) more terrible even than those 
 which had gone before. It was dated from Ecouen, a castle 
 belonging to the constable, and situated about four leagues 
 north of Paris. By that decree all convicted Lutherans were 
 to be punished with death instant and without the chance 
 of remission. It was registered by all the Parliaments with- 
 out any limitation or modification whatsoever, and the judges 
 were forbidden, under severe penalties, to diminish the pains 
 of the edict, as they had lately been in the habit of doing. 
 Such terrible powers could scarcely have failed completely to 
 eradicate heresy, if they had been carried out as Henry II. 
 intended they should be. But there was a providence watch- 
 ing over France, by which the religionists were unexpectedly 
 saved from the jaws of the lion. 
 
 One of the regulations of the treaty of Cateau-Cambresis 
 was that Philip II. now a widower through the death of 
 Mary of England in the preceding November should marry 
 Henry's sister, Elizabeth of Valois, then just turned of thir- 
 teen. The betrothal was to take place at Paris, and thither 
 came the Duke of Alva, attended by a numerous suite of 
 nobles and gentlemen. Even at such a time, when we might
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 57 
 
 suppose the king entirely occupied with nuptial festivities 
 for his sister Margaret was also to be married he proposed 
 a crusade against Geneva, " that sink of all corruption," * 
 and, but a few hours before his death, he had given Mont- 
 gomery instructions about an expedition on a grand scale into 
 the Pays de Caux for the extermination of the Reformed. 
 But the finger of God was upon him. 
 
 On the 26th June,f the Spanish marriage was celebrated, 
 the Duke of Alva acting as proxy for Philip II. Magnificent 
 rejoicings followed the ceremony, and a tournament was held 
 in the lists erected at the end of the Rue St. Antoine. It must 
 have been a grand sight, that old historic street. In front of 
 the palace of the Tournelles stood a gallery in which sat the 
 youthful Queen of Spain under a canopy of blue silk, ornament- 
 ed with the device of her husband whom she had not yet seen. 
 Around her were grouped men destined to become famous in 
 history: Alva, the Prince of Orange, and Count Egmont. 
 Catherine sat in a gallery apart, with Mary Stuart on her 
 right, and Margaret, affianced to the Duke of Savoy, on her 
 left. The king had declared his intention of entering the lists, 
 in order to display his skill before the Spanish grandees. As 
 if foreseeing evil, the queen besought him to forego the dan- 
 gerous pastime ; but, confident in himself, he only laughed at 
 her fears. After two successful encounters with the Dukes of 
 Savoy and Guise, he challenged Gabriel de Lorges, Count of 
 Montgomery. De Lorges was captain of Henry's Scotch 
 guard, and had been sent to Scotland by Francis I. in 1545, 
 in command of the troops dispatched to the assistance of the 
 queen-regent Mary of Guise. In the first course the advan- 
 tage lay with the count, and the king, chafed by such a partial 
 discomfiture, challenged him. to try another turn. The queen 
 and Marshal de Vieilleville entreated him to be satisfied, and 
 Montgomery declined a second encounter. But Henry Avould 
 take no refusal. Once more they met ; their lances were shiver- 
 
 * Alvn to Philip: Journ. des Savants, 1857, p. 171. 
 
 t Art de verifier Ics dates. Other authorities give June 21 and 24.
 
 58" MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 ed, but both retained their seats. Again the trumpets sound- 
 ed, again they spurred their horses, Avhen Montgomery's lance 
 Struck the king's helmet, knocked off the plume, and snapped 
 in two, a splinter from the lower portion of the shaft entering 
 his right eye. There was a loud shriek from the royal gallery, 
 which for a moment distracted the attention of the spectators 
 from the king, who had lost all command over his horse, and 
 was reeling in his saddle. The attendants were hardly quick 
 enough to save him from falling to the ground. His helmet 
 was loosed and the splinter pulled out. It was " of a good 
 bigness," says the English embassador, who was an eye-wit- 
 ness.* " Nothing else was done to him upon the field ; but I 
 noted him to be very weak, and to have the feeling of all his 
 limbs almost benumbed ; for being carried away as he lay 
 along, nothing covered but his face, he moved neither hand 
 nor foot, but lay as one amazed. There was marvelous great 
 lamentation made for him, and weeping of all sorts, both men 
 and women." The wound proved more serious than Throck- 
 morton had imagined : Henry never left his bed again. Twice 
 he received the last sacraments of the Church, and calling for 
 his son Francis, " commended the Church and the people to 
 his care.'' After an interval of repose for the exertion of 
 uttering these few words was almost too great for him he 
 added : " Above all things, remain steadfast in the true f aith."f 
 Henry II. died on the 10th of July, leaving behind him four 
 sons, three of whom wore the crown of France. He also left 
 three daughters and a bastard son, Henry of Angouleme, who 
 cruelly distinguished himself at the massacre of St. Bartholo- 
 mew. 
 
 The Protestants were accused of rejoicing at Henry's death: 
 
 * Throckmorton to Council, 1st July, 1559; Forbes, i. 151; Lettere dei 
 Prwjct)tt(14th July, 1559), iii. 19G. Montgomery escaped to England, where 
 he embraced the Reformed doctrines. 
 
 J Some authorities state that, though Henry lingered eleven days, he never 
 recovered either speech or reason. In the Chanson de Montgommery (1574) 
 we read that he " pronon9a a voix haute, Quo nlivais nullement vers lui corn- 
 mis la faute."
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 59 
 
 they not only made songs upon it, but " offered thanks, or 
 rather blasphemies, to God, daring to say that the Almighty 
 had struck him under the walls of the Bastille, where he de- 
 tained the innocent in prison." * It is possible that there 
 may be some foundation for this charge, for it requires a great 
 amount of true Christian feeling to make the victims forbear 
 from exulting at the removal of their persecutor by what 
 seems to them the judgment of God. In his dedicatory epis- 
 tle of the Psalms done into French Verse, Beza thus paints 
 the second Henry : 
 
 Je vois un masque avec sa maigre mine 
 Qui fait trembler les lieux ou il chemine. 
 
 But the " Lutherans " did not tremble : they bore their tes- 
 timony with Christian resolution, and acted up to the noble 
 lines in the same poem : 
 
 S'il faut servir au Seigneur de temoins, 
 Mourons, mourons, louans Dieu pour le moins. 
 Au departir de ces lieux miserables, 
 Pour traverser aux cieux tant de'sirables. 
 Qve les tyrans soient de nous martyrer 
 Plutut lasses, que nous de tendurer. 
 
 The sincerity of Catherine's grief for the loss of her hus-' 
 band has been much doubted, but without sufficient cause. 
 To a woman of her temper the change wrought in her position 
 by widowhood must at first have been hard to bear. She cer- 
 tainly felt as much for her husband while living, as such selfish 
 natures can feel, and commemorated her bereavement and 
 regret in the ornaments of her palace of the Tuileries, where 
 the broken mirrors, plumes reversed, and scattered jewelry 
 carved on certain columns have been regarded as emblems of 
 her sorrow, f A garrulous contemporary (whom we shah 1 have 
 frequent occasion to quote), lamenting the death of Henry II., 
 praises him particularly for the discipline he introduced into 
 
 * Mezeray, ii. 1137. Claude Haton charges the Protestants with trying 
 to kill Henry in 1558, considering him "le tyran pers&uteur de Peglise do 
 Je'sus Christ." 
 
 t Gail : Tableaux chronoloyiques, p. 96 (8vo. Paris, 1819) ; also Brantome.
 
 60 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 the army,* which was such " that the peasants hardly deigned 
 to shut the doors of their cellars, granaries, chests, or other 
 lock-up places for fear of the soldiers, who conducted them- 
 selves most becomingly. When billeted in the villages, they 
 would not venture to touch the hens or other poultry without 
 first asking their host's leave and paying for them."f It is a 
 pity to spoil so Arcadian a story ; but if it is true, there must 
 have been a sad falling off in the military discipline in a few 
 months, for Francis II. writes in 1560 to the Duke of Aumale, 
 then in Burgundy, " to punish the men-at-arms and archers 
 who had lived without paying.''^ 
 
 * This discipline was in reality the work of Coligny. 
 
 f Claude Haton. 
 
 J Aoibespine : Doc. Hist. Francois 1 '/., torn. ii. p. 428.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 61 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 REIGX OF FRANCIS II. 
 
 [155D-15CO.] 
 
 Catherine de Medicis The Duke of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine 
 St. Andre Anthony of Navarre and Conde' Coligny and Andelot 
 Disgrace of Montmorency Persecuting Edicts Execution of Du Bourg 
 Discontent in France Edict of Chambord La Renaudie The Meet- 
 ing at Nantes Tumult of Amboise Bloody Reprisals Castelnau's Trial 
 and Execution The Duke's Viands Auhigne' and his Son Grace of 
 Amboise Regnier de la Planche Renewal of Persecutions L'Hopi- 
 tal made Chancellor Edict of Romorantin Religious and Political Mal- 
 contents Abuse of the Pulpit The Tiger General Lawlessness Hu- 
 pufenot Violence Demand for a Council Montbrun and Mouvans 
 L'Hopital's Inaugural Address Les Politiques The Notables at Fon- 
 tainebleau Montluc and Marillac Meeting at Nerac Address pre- 
 sented to Anthony The Court at Orleans Arrest and Trial of Conde' 
 Death of Francis II. 
 
 FRAXCIS II., husband of the beautiful and unfortunate Mary 
 Stuart, had only reached his sixteenth year when he ascended 
 the throne (10th July, 1559).* On the very day of his father's 
 funeral he gratified his mother's ruling passion by assuring 
 her that all authority should be in her hands, and that she 
 should administer the government in his name. But she had 
 to hold her own against unscrupulous rivals ; and in those rude 
 days the spindle had very little chance against the sword, un- 
 less it were aided by dissimulation. We shall see that Cath- 
 erine met force with craft, proving herself at times more than 
 a match for all her rivals. She soon found that she had no 
 
 * Born 20th January, 1544, N.S. The medals say he was crowned on 
 the 17th, Mezeray the 19th, and Do Thou the 20th Sept., 1559. Such are 
 the discrepancies continually to be met with even in trivial matters.
 
 62 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 chance with the queen-consort, who used all her influence in 
 behalf of the house of Lorraine. In a letter to her daughter 
 Elizabeth she says: "God has deprived me of your father, 
 whom I loved so dearly, as you well know, and has left me 
 with three children and in a divided kingdom. I have no one 
 in whom I can trust : all have some private end to serve." 
 Mary Stuart behaved to her with all the insolence of youth 
 and*eauty, calling her a Florentine shop-keeper,* and Cather- 
 ine returned contempt for contempt. 
 
 It will be impossible to understand the stormy period upon 
 which we are now entering, unless we know something of the 
 parties into which France, as weh 1 as the court, was divided, 
 and of the individuals at their head. There were in reality 
 only two parties, but it will be more convenient to consider 
 them as represented by the four houses of Guise, Bourbon, 
 Montmorency, and Chatillon. The most formidable of these 
 claimants of the government was the first the family of Guise, 
 to which Mary Stuart belonged on her mother's side. The 
 power of this house dates from the reign of Francis I. Gen- 
 ealogists delight to trace its origin back to Charlemagne, and 
 even to Priam, King of Troy : with about equal truth in both 
 cases. The chief of the family was Claude, son of that Rene, 
 Duke of Lorraine, who defeated and slew Charles the Bold 
 under the walls of Nancy. Being a younger son, he had gone 
 to the French court in search of fortune, and the search was 
 not in vain. He married Antoinette of Bourbon, a descend- 
 ant of Louis IX., and dying, left six sons and four daughters, 
 and an income of 600,000 livres, about equivalent to 160,000?. 
 sterling. The eldest of his sons was Francis, Duke of Guise, 
 now in his fortieth year, a skillful, violent, and unscrupulous 
 soldier. He kept up an almost royal establishment ; and when 
 his steward represented to him that the best way of getting 
 out of his pecuniary embarrassments would be to retrench his 
 expenditure, and that he would do well to dismiss a number 
 
 * Card. Santa Croce writes : "La Regina di Scotia un giorno gli disse 
 che non sarebbe mai altro die figlia di un mercantc."
 
 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 63 
 
 of poor gentlemen who lived at his expense, he replied : " It 
 is true I do not want them, but they want me." He was ex- 
 ceedingly popular in Paris, ever ready to listen to the com- 
 plaints of the humblest citizen ; and was beloved by his sol- 
 diers, for he never failed to recompense any remarkable ex- 
 ploit. After the surprise of Calais he appointed one Captain 
 Gourdan to be governor, passing over many officers of higher 
 rank ; and when these murmured at the preference, the duke 
 justified his choice. "Captain Gourdan is very useful," he 
 said, " to guard the place he helped to take, and where he left 
 one of his legs during the assault. You have two legs, gen- 
 tlemen, with which you can go and seek your fortune else- 
 where." He was cool in the midst of danger, brave as his 
 own sword, and even his name was a terror to his enemies. 
 At Terouenne, the Spaniards were checked in the very moment 
 of victory by shouts of " Guise ! Guise !" Above all, the 
 family of Lorraine professed to be the champions of orthodoxy, 
 and Duke Francis in particular seems to have entertained an 
 insurmountable aversion for heresy in every form. He pos- 
 sessed almost every advantage that fortune can shower upon 
 a man. He was above the middle height, with oval face, 
 large eyes, and dark complexion, but his beard and hair 
 were reddened by exposure. He was not a fluent speaker, 
 although he could use the right word at the right time. He 
 married Anne of Este, daughter of Renee of France, grand- 
 daughter of Louis XII., and first cousin of Henry II. a con- 
 nection which will partly account for the ambitious schemes 
 of his son. 
 
 The other members of the Lorraine family were Charles, the 
 cardinal; Claude, Duke of Aumale, who married Louisa do 
 Breze, eldest daughter of Diana of Poitiers ; Francis, grand- 
 prior of Malta; Louis, Archbishop of Sens and afterward 
 cardinal ; and Rene, Marquis of Elbceuf ; besides three sisters, 
 one of whom married, first, Louis of Orleans, and second, 
 James V. of Scotland, to whom she bore a daughter, the 
 unhappy Mary Stuart of Scottish history. When they were
 
 64: MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 at court, the four younger brothers usually waited upon the 
 cardinal at his rising, and then all five proceeded to pay their 
 respects to the duke, by whom they were conducted to the 
 king. 
 
 Charles, better known as the Cardinal of Lorraine, was one 
 of the wealthiest ecclesiastics of the day. In addition to his 
 share of his father's large fortune, he possessed benefices yield- 
 ing him a yearly income of 300,000 livres.* This prelate, 
 whom Pius V. called " the Ultramontane Pope," was a man 
 of unbounded ambition, strong passions, great craft, and such 
 fertility of expedients, that his enemies declared he must have 
 a familiar spirit at his elbow. He was a graceful speaker, and of 
 goodly presence,! but such an arrant coward, that (like Horace) 
 he used to make a jest of it. Charles IX. gave him permission 
 to be attended by an armed guard even to the steps of the 
 altar, intermixing the Smell of gunpowder with the odor of 
 incense."J His character has probably been much distorted. 
 He had enemies everywhere, and, in an unscrupulous age, 
 slander and falsehood were ready weapons to damage a rival. 
 He was not so bad as many churchmen of his time ; for if he 
 was profligate, he was not profligate openly. He kept neither 
 hawks nor hounds ; he sang mass often, fasted regularly, wore 
 sackcloth, and always said grace before his meals. Claude de 
 Saintes, who was in almost daily attendance upon him for six- 
 teen years, speaks of the mortifications of his life, and denies 
 his excessive timidity. Contarini, the Venetian ambassador, 
 extols his virtuous habits, so unlike those of other French car- 
 dinals ; and Giovanni Soranzo, writing seven years later (1558) 
 says : " He is not much beloved ; he is far from truthful, nat- 
 
 * Le Plat, v. p. 517. 
 
 t " Pulchro aspectu, procera statura, facie oblonga [the true Lorraine 
 face], fronte ampla et eminente." Gallla j>urj>urata. Beza said : "Had I 
 the cardinal's eloquence, I should hope to convert half France." 
 
 t Auberi : Hist. Card. Richelieu, i. liv. ii. p. 87 (ed. 1666). 
 
 "Me participem fecit, ut tentationum et passionum quibus per tot an- 
 nos quotidie moriebatur, omni hora de vita periclitabatur . . . tarn parum 
 timidus quam nitnium esse putabatnr." Bayle, sfci voce.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 65 
 
 wally deceitful and covetous, but full of religion" * The re- 
 ligion thus praised was one of forms only. 
 
 There is a letter of his in the public library at Rouen, ad- 
 dressed to the French embassador to the court of Spain, in 
 which, speaking of his retirement to his diocese of Rheims 
 during the season of Lent, he says : " I have nothing to write 
 about but prayers and preaching, in which I am busied, in- 
 structing my little flock, whereat I assure you I take as much 
 pleasure as I once did in the cares and toils of court, and I 
 feel such sweetness and repose, that the desire to return to 
 court is far from me."f This " world forgetting by the 
 world forgot " is too common with statesmen under a cloud to 
 be taken literally. The cardinal was vindictive as church- 
 men (and w^omen) alone can be, and so violent that he often 
 marred his brother's plans. The intoxication of prosperity 
 had made him intolerable.^ Nor did his religion prevent him 
 from being covetous : he has been charged with robbing his 
 uncle's creditors by taking his property, and with appropri- 
 ating the estate of Dampierre, which belonged to Treasurer 
 Duval ; that of Meudon, which belonged to Cardinal Sanguin- 
 Meudon ; and that of Marchais, which belonged to the Sire 
 of Longueval. He also took up the mortgaged city of 
 Chevreuse without paying for it ; and rich as he had become 
 through these exactions, he never paid his debts. He was 
 a shameless pluralist, holding at once the archiepiscopal sees 
 of Lyons, Rheims, Sens, and Narbonne, the bishoprics of 
 Metz, Toul, Verdun, Terouenne, Lu9on, Alby, and Valence, 
 and the abbeys of Fecamp, Clugny, and Marmoutier. The 
 last-named abbey he obtained by force. Hurant de Chiverny 
 
 * " Licenziosissimo per natura . . . ingordizia inestimabile , . . gran 
 duplicitk." Relazioni d. Amb. Ven. (ed. Alberi), p. 441. 
 
 t 9th April, 15G1. MS. in Rouen Library; Leber, bundle B, No. 5720. 
 On the other side, see the " Supplication," etc., reprinted in Bouille : Hist. 
 Guise, p. 77. 
 
 J Michcli speaks of the " odio universalc eonccputo contro di lui per i 
 molti cffetti d' offesa che mostro verso ognuno raentre nel governo ebbc 1' 
 a u tori t a." 
 
 E
 
 "66 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 being unwilling to resign, the cardinal shut him up in the 
 Bastille, where he dietl, and then took his abbey. In despite 
 of his greediness the French clergy had a boundless devotion 
 for him." * 
 
 Among the chief adherents of the Lorraine party were the 
 Duke of Nemours, Brissac, and Jacques d'Albon, Marshal 
 of St. Andre. The latter had been a great favorite with 
 Henry II., who loaded him with presents. He was brave, in- 
 sinuating in address, magnificent in disposition, greedy, and 
 always in want of money. He received the order of the Gar- 
 ter from Edward VI., to whom he had been sent with the 
 decoration of St. Michael. 
 
 Another competitor for the government was Anthony of 
 Bourbon, first prince of the blood. He traced his descent 
 from Louis IX., who left two sons, Philip III. and Robert : 
 from the former descended the house of Valois, from the lat- 
 ter the house of Bourbon. Of this there were two branches 
 Vendome and Montpensier. Anthony was the head of the 
 elder branch, but his younger brother, Louis of Conde, Avas 
 its most distinguished member. The family had lost much 
 of its wealth and influence especially among the populace, 
 who are always the first to take up and the last to discard a 
 personal prejudice in consequence of the treason of the Con- 
 stable of Bourbon in the reign of Francis I., but they were 
 still powerful enough to venture to aspire to the crown. An- 
 thony, Duke of Vendome, as he was generally styled before 
 his marriage with Joan of Navarre,f was frank and affable, 
 but irresolute and deficient in moral courage ; he was of no- 
 ble presence, fond of dress, and the "mirror of fashion" 
 among the courtiers. Brave in the field, he wanted energy in 
 the council-chamber ; he was vacillating in religious princi- 
 
 * In the museum of Orleans there is a striking portrait of the cardinal 
 and of his nephew, Henry, the hero of the Massncre of St. Bartholomew. 
 
 t He was born in 1518, and in 1548 married the heiress of Navarre (born 
 1">28), whose dowry consisted of the principality of Beam and the counties 
 of Armapnac, Albret, Bigorrc, Foix, and Comminges. Upper Navarre had 
 been seized by Spain.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 67 
 
 pies, and of loose private morals. Thus he became a mere 
 tool in the hands of others, and though trusted by no one, 
 was courted for the splendor and prestige of his "name. His 
 only aim in life seemed to be to exchange his petty nomi- 
 nal sovereignty of Navarre for a real kingdom no matter 
 where. 
 
 Louis, Prince of Conde, now in his twenty-ninth year, and 
 the youngest of the family, was the reverse of his brother 
 Anthony. High-shouldered, short, ungraceful, and at first 
 sight ill-adapted either for court or camp, he shone in both. 
 He had shared with the Duke of Guise the honor of defend- 
 ing Metz, and had rallied the flying troops after the defeat at 
 St. Quentin. From policy he seems early to have adopted 
 the Reformed religion, though he took no pains to live up to 
 its principles. The great Reformed party was to him a 
 means of power and advancement. By his marriage with 
 Eleanor de Roye, the richest heiress in France, he united 
 against the Guises the powerful houses of Montmorency, 
 Chatillon, and Rochefoucault the latter being connected 
 with the royal line of Navarre. 
 
 A third brother of this family was Charles, Archbishop of 
 Rouen and Cardinal of Bourbon, a weak man, not overbur- 
 dened with sense, who adhered to the Church of Rome. To 
 the younger branch of the same house belonged two broth- 
 ers, the Duke of Montpensier and the Prince of Roche-sur- 
 Yon, both inclined to the Reform. 
 
 But besides the Duke of Guise and Anthony of Navarre, 
 there was a man of noble birth and large family influence 
 the representative of a great party in the kingdom whom it 
 was not safe to neglect. This was Gaspard de Coligny, Gov- 
 ernor of Picardy, Admiral of France, and second son of the 
 Count of Chatillon. The Chatillons were originally a sov- 
 ereign house, and Gaspard's father had been a marshal of 
 France. He had married Louisa of Montmorency, sister to 
 the constable, and thus became allied to one of the noblest 
 houses in France. The eldest son of this marriage was Car-
 
 68 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 dinal (Met, the youngest Frai^ois de Chatillon, sieur of Ande- 
 lot.* Gaspard, Count of Coligny, was born in 1518, and in 
 his earlier years was very intimate with Francis of Guise 
 (then Prince of Joinville). lie was present at the battle of 
 Renti, all the glory of which the Lorraine party wished to as- 
 cribe to Prince Francis. Coligny thought " he might have 
 done better," and this remark being exaggerated by false 
 friends, the coolness already beginning to exist between them, 
 and which was the work of Diana of Poitiers, gradually in- 
 creased until they became totally estranged. The admiral 
 was at one time a great favorite with Henry II. and the 
 sharer of all his pleasures. He was Governor of the Isle of 
 France, captain of a hundred men-at-arms (an expensive hon- 
 or), and knight of the order of St. Michael. He had been made 
 prisoner at the battle of St. Quentin (1557), and it was during 
 the consequent enforced retirement from public life that 
 he strengthened those religious convictions which he had first 
 learned at his mother's knee. Andelot, the younger brother, 
 was the first convert to the new opinions. Made prisoner in 
 1551, and detained in the castle of Milan until 1556, he em- 
 ployed his long captivity in studying the works of Calvin : 
 " Such are the sad fruits of .leisure and idleness," says Bran- 
 tome with a sigh. He was taken with his brother at the 
 siege of St. Quentin, but made his escape, and was present 
 at the surprise of Calais. When he visited his vast estates 
 in Brittany, he encouraged two Reformed ministers in his 
 suite to preach openly wherever he halted, thus laying the 
 foundations of many a Christian churqh in the north-west of 
 France. Returning to the court where he was in high favor 
 with Henry II., he was denounced by the Cardinal of Lor- 
 raine as a heretic and impudent violator of the edicts. To 
 the king's questions Andelot replied that he had never gone 
 
 * Marc Duval's engraving of the three brothers is well known, and has 
 often been copied. In the Lenoir Collection (now belonging to the Duke of 
 Sutherland) there is a painting of the three brothers ; and, if I am correctly 
 informed, there arc other portraits at Knowle Park.
 
 GASPARD DE COLIGNY, ADMIRAL OF FRANCE.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 69 
 
 to the Pre aux Clercs, although the religionists did nothing 
 there but sing the Psalms of David, and offer up prayers for 
 the welfare of the king and the safety of the kingdom. He 
 confessed that he had forwarded books of consolation to his 
 brother the admiral, and had countenanced the preaching of 
 a good and sound doctrine, deduced from Holy Scripture. 
 "Your Majesty," he continued, "has loaded me with such 
 favor that I have spared neither body nor goods in your serv- 
 ice, and I will continue to spare neither so long as I live. 
 But having thus done my duty, your Majesty will not think 
 it strange if I employ the rest of my time in caring for my 
 own salvation. It is many years since I have been to mass, 
 and I shall never go again. I entreat your Majesty to leave 
 my conscience alone, and permit me to serve you with my 
 body and goods, which are wholly at your disposal." Henry 
 II., who could bear no contradiction, flew into a passion, and 
 seizing him by the collar of St. Michael that was round his 
 neck, exclaimed : " But I did not give you this to use it thus 
 keeping away from mass and refusing to follow my relig- 
 ion." "I did not know then, what it was to be a Chris- 
 tian," answered Andelot, " or I should not have accepted it on 
 such conditions." Henry could contain himself no longer. 
 He seized a platter which lay before him and threw it across 
 the table, but it struck the dauphin ; he then drew his sword 
 iipon Andelot, w T ho was hurried away by the guards and aft- 
 erward shut up in the castle of Melun. From prison he 
 wrote to the church of Paris : " Christ shall be magnified in 
 my body, ichether it be by life or by death. For me to live is 
 Christ, and to die is gain" He also addressed a letter to 
 the king : " Sire," he wrote, " if I have done any thing to dis- 
 please you, I beseech you in all humility to forgive me, and 
 to believe that, the obedience I owe to God and my con- 
 science excepted, you can command nothing in which I will 
 not expose my goods, my body, and my life. And what I ask 
 of you, Sire, is not, thanks be to God, through fear of death, 
 and still less from a desire to recover my liberty, for I hold
 
 70 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 nothing so dear that I would not resign it willingly for the 
 salvation of my soul and God's glory." Pie was alike un- 
 moved by the tender entreaties of his wife, Claude do Rieux, 
 and by the prudent advice of his brother the cardinal, who 
 urged him to satisfy Henry II. if it were only by an apparent 
 submission. At length, however, he consented to hold a con- 
 ference with a learned doctor of the Sorbonne, and to hear 
 mass in his presence, but without previous abjuration. Cal- 
 vin, who had written exhorting Audelot to be firm, now re- 
 proached him for his weakness ; but it was easy for the Re- 
 former of Geneva, who was in a place of safety, and who had 
 never been tested by the fires of persecution, to censure one 
 whose faith was weak, and whose affectionate, loyal nature 
 was worked upon by those who were dearest to him. 
 
 But Andelot's elder brother, Gaspard, was made of sterner 
 stuff. While in prison the Bible was his constant companion 
 and chief study. Calvin, who had probably heard of his con- 
 version through Andelot, wrote to him : " I shall use no long 
 exhortation to confirm you in patience, for I have heard that 
 our gracious God hath so strengthened you by the virtue of 
 his Spirit, that I have rather occasion to return thanks to him 
 than to excite you more. Only I would pray you to remem- 
 ber that God, by sending you this affliction, hath wished to 
 draw you out of the crowd, that you may the better listen to 
 him." In the end, Gaspard adopted the Reformed creed, 
 and became the idol of the Reformed party. In his wife, 
 Charlotte de Laval, he found an affectionate sympathizer in 
 his religious opinions, and a support during many an hour of 
 distress. He was of the middle height, and well-proportion- 
 ed ; he stooped a little as if in meditation, and his counte- 
 nance was always calm and serious, except on the battle-field, 
 where (as we are told) his face lighted up, and he would chew 
 the tooth-pick which he used to carry in his mouth.* 
 
 * Brnntomc quotes an Italian saying: "Dio me gnarda del bel gigneto 
 del Principe (di Conde')e dell' animo e stecco dell' Amiraglio." There was
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 71 
 
 His intrepidity was remarkable, even among the fearless 
 men of his day. " Do not go to Blois to the king and the 
 queen-mother," his friends said to him ; " be sure there is 
 some plot at the bottom." " Yes, I will go," he answered ; 
 " it is better to die by one bold stroke than to live a hundred 
 years in fear." He was not a fortunate commander, but was 
 so fertile in resource, and so rapidly did he reorganize his 
 beaten troops, that he was said to be more formidable after a 
 defeat than before it.* 
 
 At the death of Henry II. the Constable Montmorency 
 was at the head of the government, but he now learned that 
 his influence had expired with his old master. "When a depu- 
 tation from the Parliament of Paris waited upon Francis II. 
 to congratulate him on his accession, he told them that he had 
 selected his uncles the Cardinal of Lorraine and the Duke of 
 Guise to conduct the public affairs, and that to them they 
 must apply in future. Montmorency struggled for awhile, 
 but finding no support, he acted upon the king's suggestion 
 and retired to his estate at Chantilly. He was deprived of 
 the high-stewardship of the household, and the office was con- 
 ferred on the Duke of Guise, who, besides assuming the war 
 department, was lord chamberlain and master of the hounds. 
 The department of finance was assigned to the cardinal, and 
 thus the two brothers disposed of all France. " Not a crown 
 could be spent or a soldier moved," says Buchanan, " without 
 their consent." f Catherine sympathized with Montmorency 
 in his disgrace. In a letter to him she says : " I very much 
 wish your health might permit you to remain at court; for 
 then I believe things would be better conducted than now, 
 and that you would aid me to deliver the king from tutelage, 
 
 another saying: " Deficz-voiis du cure-dents de 1'Amira], du non du Conne't- 
 nblc, et du oul dc Catherine." 
 
 * Mr. Crowe, who seems to have taken his history of this period from Da- 
 vila, calls Coligny " a man of bold and imposing character," and says that 
 he and Andclot were the inspiring causes of the religions wars. So far as 
 the admiral is concerned, this is quite contrary to the fact. 
 
 t Her. Scot. Hist, lib.xvi. p. 567 (ed. 1G68)"
 
 72 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 for you have always desired that your master should be obey- 
 ed by all his subjects." 
 
 The constable, foreseeing the change that was likely to take 
 place in the new reign, had profited by the last few days of 
 the late king's life, to urge Anthony of Navarre to come to 
 court and assert his rights as prince of the blood to be one 
 of the new council. A meeting of the chiefs of the Bourbon, 
 or opposition, party was accordingly summoned at Vendome 
 to decide on the line of conduct to be pursued. Conde, Co- 
 ligny, Andelot, the Vidame of Chartres (Francis of Vendome), 
 and Prince Porcien, all relations and friends, attended the 
 summons. In the interval the Guises had been installed in 
 office, and the question now arose, how their government 
 should be resisted. Conde, Andelot, and the Vidame were 
 for waf ; the admiral advised delay, as the queen-mother 
 would be sure to join them, if she found securities on their 
 side, and in that case the government must fall. Moderate 
 counsels prevailed, and Anthony, after much vacillation, start- 
 ed for . the court ; but Francis II. refused to see him except 
 in the presence of his ministers, who offered him every indig- 
 nity. At length Conde joined him, and instilling some of his 
 own spirit into his brother, urged him to assert his claim. It 
 was granted after some little demur ; but he was too much 
 in the way, and to get rid of him honorably he was commis- 
 sioned to escort the Princess Elizabeth to Spain. He fell into 
 the trap so cunningly laid for him, and the Guises were once 
 more sole masters. Catherine was still ostensibly consulted, 
 and the royal edicts continued to run in this form : " It being 
 the good pleasure of my lady the queen-mother, We also ap- 
 proving the things which she advises, are content and com- 
 mand that," etc. 
 
 Whatever little influence she possessed was exerted to drive 
 her late rival Diana from court, and force her to disgorge 
 much of her ill-gotten wealth. Afher instance, the king wrote 
 to the fallen favorite : " That in consequence of her evil in- 
 fluence (mali officii) over the late king his father, she de-
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 73 
 
 served severe punishment; but, in his royal clemency, 
 he would trouble her no farther, but she must return to 
 him all the jewels that had been given her by the king his 
 father." * 
 
 The accession of the young king produced no amelioration 
 in the condition of the Lutherans. " In the midst of all these 
 great matters and business," writes Throckmorton, " they here 
 do not stay to make persecution and sacrifice of poor souls. 
 The 12th of this month [July] two men and one woman were 
 executed for religion." This was a remnant of the last reign. 
 That the new reign would not be more tolerant was shown by 
 a proclamation issued the next day, "by sound of trumpet, 
 that all such as should speak either against the Church or the 
 religion now used in France, should be brought before the 
 several bishops, and they to do execution upon them."f The 
 edict of Villars-Cotteret (4th September) forbade all " unlaw- 
 ful " meetings, whether by night or by day ; the houses in 
 which such meetings were held were to be pulled down, and 
 the proprietors held to bail for their future good behavior. 
 Another edict (that of Blois, November, 1559) punished all 
 who attended the assemblies with death "without hope of 
 pardon or mitigation." By other decrees (13th November) a 
 reward of 100 crowns and a free pardon were offered to any 
 person who should give information of a secret meeting. Nor 
 were these severe measures confined to Paris. On 23d Sep- 
 tember, 1559, the magistrates of Poitiers issued an order for- 
 bidding religious assemblies, enjoining all strangers to leave 
 the town in twenty-four hours, and innkeepers to send in lists 
 of the lodgers in their houses. There was to be no preaching 
 in public or private, the citizens were to give neither fire nor 
 water to the pastors whom any body might arrest, they were 
 to be tried for sedition, and the lightest penalty was con- 
 
 * Lippomano in Baschet, p. 494 ; Throckmorton to Queen, 13th July, 
 1560, in Forbes, i. p. 159. 
 
 t Throckmorton says that the cardinal took pattern from the proclama- 
 tions and injunctions of Pole and Bonner. Forbes, i. p. 161 and 233.
 
 7-i MASSACEE OF ST. BAKTHOLOME w. 
 
 fiscation of goods.* The result was that the country was 
 overrun with spies and informers, and the charge of heresy 
 was often made the means of gratifying private revenge. 
 
 Meanwhile neither Henry's death nor the assassination of 
 President Minard by a man named Stuart,f had any power to 
 suspend the trial of Du Bourg. He made use of all the forms 
 of the court to find some loop-hole of escape, and lodged ap- 
 peal after appeal, all of which were decided against him. At 
 length, on the 23d of December, 1559, the long contest was 
 brought to an end. J After sentence of death had been de- 
 livered, he said : " I am sent to the stake, because I will not 
 confess that justification, grace, and sanctification are to be 
 found elsewhere than in Christ. This is the cause of my 
 death, that I have embraced the pure doctrine of the Gospel. 
 Extinguish your fires and return unto the Lord with real new- 
 ness of heart, that your sins may be blotted out. Let the 
 wicked man forsake his way and turn unto the Lord. Think 
 upon these things ; I am going to my death." So great were 
 the apprehensions of the court of an attempt at rescue, that 
 the streets were barricaded and lined with armed men, and 
 nearly 600 soldiers were stationed round the Greve, the Ty- 
 burn of those days. Du Bourg met his fate like a Christian 
 hero : on reaching the place of execution he said : " Six feet of 
 earth for my body, and the boundless heaven for my soul, are 
 the only possession I shall soon have." Then turning to the 
 spectators he said : " I am going to die, not because I am a 
 thief and a murderer, but because I love the Gospel. I rejoice 
 to give my life in so good a cause." His last words were : 
 
 * Regnicr de la Planche, p. 227. 
 
 t December 12th, 1559. This same Stuart claimed Queen Mary's pro- 
 tection ns a blood-relation. He made the constable prisoner at Dreux, 
 mortally wounded him at St. Denis, and being taken at Jarnac, fighting 
 on the Huguenot side, was murdered by permission, if not by order, ofllen- 
 ry of Anjou. Claude Haton has a story that he was hanged at Paris in 
 July, 15G9. lie was in the Amboise plot, and escaped by flight. 
 
 t Authors differ as to the day of his death ; the dates given are 20th No- 
 vember ; 20th, 21st, 22d, and 23d December. "Duodecimo kal. Janu- 
 arii," says Belcarius, p. 921.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 75 
 
 " My God, my God, forsake me not, lest I forsake thee." The 
 executioner then adjusted the rope round his neck, uttered the 
 terrible formula : Messire le roi vous salue, and Anne du 
 Bourg was a corpse. His lifeless body was afterward burned 
 to ashes. The royal historiographer, who rarely spares a her- 
 etic, writes amplifying the words of the centurion at the foot 
 of the cross. -" His execution inspired many persons with the 
 conviction that the faith possessed by so good a man could not 
 be wrong." * Florimond de Remond, the historian of heresy, 
 and at that time a young man, was an eye-witness of Du 
 Bourg's death. "We burst into tears (he says) in our col- 
 leges on returning from the execution, and pleaded his cause 
 after his decease, cursing those unrighteous judges, who had 
 so unjustly condemned him. His preaching at the gallows 
 did more evil than a hundred ministers could have done."f 
 Chandieu, pastor of the church of Paris, shows us how it was 
 that these executions made so many converts. " Most people 
 like what they see hated with such extreme hatred. They 
 think themselves fortunate in knowing what leads others to 
 the gibbet, and return home from the public places edified 
 by the constancy of those whom they have themselves reduced 
 to ashes." J 
 
 It is not necessary to dwell upon the sufferings or to count 
 up the number of the victims. Regnier de la Planche de- 
 scribes from personal knowledge the lawless state of the capi- 
 tal. " From August to March there was nothing but arrests 
 and imprisonments, sacking of houses, proclamations of out- 
 lawry, and executions of the members of the religion with 
 cruel torments." Numbers hastened to escape from Paris, 
 
 * Mezeray, AbregS Chron. He appeal's to bo copying Regnier de la 
 Planche. 
 
 f Hist, de FHeresie, p. 8G5. 
 
 I Hist, dfs Persec.. de PJZglise de Paris, p. Ixiv. 
 
 Hist. Etat de France sous Francois II. (8vo. 1576). This work is gener- 
 ally ascribed to La Planche, but if so, he would hardly sneer at himself (p. 
 404) as " plus poliriqne quo religieux." It wns probably written by Jean de 
 Serres, author of the Conunentaru de Slalu Religioms.
 
 76 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 and sold their goods to procure the means of flight. The 
 streets were filled with carts laden with furniture, the houses 
 were abandoned to plunderers, the magistrates conniving at 
 the wrong, so that " the poor became rich and the rich poor." 
 We need not point out what an incentive this was to denun- 
 ciation, and how often men must have been condemned as here- 
 tics whose only fault was their wealth, or their having offend- 
 ed some neighbor. A remarkable passage from Theodore 
 Beza shows how wide and general was the ruin caused by this 
 terrorism. " Poor little children [the children of martyred Re- 
 formers], who had no bed but the flag-stones, went crying pit- 
 eously through the streets with hunger, and yet no one dared 
 relieve them, for fear they should be accused of heresy. So 
 that they Avere less cared -for than dogs." The pettiest vexa- 
 tions were employed against the Reformers. Crosses and 
 images, with tapers always burning before them, were set up 
 at the corner of every street, and round them gathered a 
 crowd of noisy worshipers, singing, praying, and beating 
 their breasts. If any one refused to take off his hat as he 
 passed, or to put money into the alms-box before the shrine, 
 some dirty priest or monk would raise the cry of " heretic," 
 and the poor Reformer would be pelted, beaten, and perhaps 
 dragged through the mire to prison. " Death was made a car- 
 nival," says an eloquent Frenchman. " It was indeed a show 
 in which the mob and the same mob reappeared in 1792 
 feasted their eyes on the sufferings of the Protestants, and 
 often w r ould not allow them to be strangled before they were 
 burned, lest their agonies should be diminished. One Barbe- 
 ville was thus tortured contrary to the sentence condemning 
 him to be hanged first ; but at the same time they rescued a 
 thief from the gallows, " as if they desired to condemn Christ 
 and deliver Barabbas." To call a man "Lutheran" was to 
 doom him to certain death, often too without any form of jus- 
 tice. By this lynch law many a man worked out his own 
 private revenge: the debtor paid his creditor.* Even chil- 
 * " Certains garnements n'avaient plutot crie : Au lutherien, au christau-
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 77 
 
 dren dipped their hands in the martyrs' blood and boasted 
 of it. 
 
 The treaty of Cateau-Cambresis had left a number of soldiers 
 of every rank without employment and without resources. 
 There was a public debt of forty-eight million livres, the in- 
 terest of which was paid with difficulty; the treasury was 
 empty, and there were no ready means of filling it. Perhaps 
 the persecution of the heretics, which was always attended 
 with confiscation of property, may not have been entirely un- 
 connected with the financial difficulties of the royal household. 
 But there certainly was no money, and when the disbanded 
 soldiers applied to the Cardinal of Lorraine for their arrears 
 of pay, he not only threatened to hang them, but erected two 
 gibbets before the gate of the palace of St. Germains, or, as 
 others say, of Fontainebleau. It was a threat as unwise as it 
 was cruel, and nearly cost the Guises very dear. The malcon- 
 tent soldiery joined the persecuted Huguenots each party 
 feeling a common hatred against the " Lorrainers," and re- 
 solved to get rid of their common enemy. It has been assert- 
 ed, but without any solid grounds, that Catherine looked fa- 
 vorably on this coalition, she being equally desirous of freeing 
 herself from both duke and cardinal. But, whatever she 
 may have suspected, she certainly knew nothing of what was 
 actually preparing. In these humaner and more civilized days, 
 obnoxious ministers and administrators are got rid of by dis- 
 missal, or by a vote in Parliament : in ruder times they were 
 removed by revolt or assassination. In the middle of the six- 
 teenth century the government of France was a despotism 
 moderated by the dagger. Even within a month of the death 
 of Henry II. a union of the malcontents was meditated, the 
 Reformed only holding back until they should be assured of 
 its lawfulness. They consulted Calvin, who declared that " it 
 would be better they should all perish a hundred times over 
 rather than expose the name of Christianity and of the Gospel 
 
 ilin qu'ils no fusscnt non settlement quittes de leurs dcttes." Kegnicr do 
 lit Planche.
 
 78 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 to the disgrace of rebellion and bloodshed." They were more 
 successful with some German divines, who thought " they 
 might lawfully oppose the usurpation of the Guises, even with 
 arms, if the princes of the blood, their lawful magistrates by 
 birth, or even one of them, should be at their head." 
 
 The discontent increased and grew bolder every day. " We 
 will go and complain to the king," said the oppressed peasant- 
 ry. As early as the 15th November, 1559, Killigrew wrote to 
 Queen Elizabeth : " The king the last day being on hunting, 
 was (for what cause or upon what occasion we know not) in 
 such fear, as he was forced to leave his pastime, and to leave 
 the hounds uncoupled, and return to the court [at Blois]. 
 Whereupon there was commandment given to the Scottish 
 guard to wear jackets of mail and pistols." * And writing 
 again at the end of the year (29th December), he adds : " It is 
 evident that the discontent has reached a point when some- 
 thing desperate may be expected." The Guises knew this, 
 and being conscious of the weak foundation on which their 
 authority rested, and fearing an insurrection, they forbade the 
 carrying of arms and the wearing of any kind of dress favora- 
 ble to the concealment of weapons, f At that time the ordina- 
 ry cloak had no sleeve, and reached to the middle of the calf 
 of the leg, and the large trunk hose were more than an ell and 
 a half Avide. This injunction seems to have been binding only 
 on the Protestants, and was intended to prevent them from 
 protecting themselves. That they sometimes did this very 
 effectually is proved by a little incident recorded by Killi- 
 grew. Seventeen persons had been arrested at Blois "for 
 the Word's sake," and committed to the sergeants to be 
 taken to Orleans for trial ; but on the road their escort was 
 atetcked by sixty men on horseback, who set them all at 
 liberty. 
 
 Although the Ordinance of Chambord (17th December, 
 1559), by facilitating the trial of heretics and condemning to 
 
 * Forbes, i. p. 262. t Ibid, p. 292.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 79 
 
 death all who sheltered them, seemed intended to drive the Re- 
 formed to despair, they as yet entertained no serious thoughts 
 of rebellion. There were not wanting men of their own 
 class who preached the doctrine of resistance,* yet none of 
 the higher orders came forward as their leaders. Without 
 such champions they would be little better than an undisci- 
 plined mob. At last, however, they found the man they 
 wanted in Bary de la Renaudie, a gentleman of a good fami- 
 ly in Perigord, and a soldier of some reputation one of those 
 daring men who always spring up in troublous times. At 
 one period attached to Francis of Guise, who had helped him 
 to escape from prison, he became his most violent enemy in 
 consequence of the duke's barbarous cruelty to Gaspard de 
 Heu, who was allied to him by marriage.! Probably it was 
 this enmity which made him renounce his religion and join 
 the Reformers. He was just the man for getting up a con- 
 spiracy, and by his ability and address soon won over great 
 numbers in Switzerland as well as in France. He constantly 
 asserted that Calvin and Coligny approved of the design, and 
 that the Prince of Conde would declare himself at the proper 
 opportunity. As regards the two former, the statement is in- 
 correct; but Conde appears to have played an undecided 
 part, " letting I dare, not wait upon I would" \ The first 
 meeting of the conspirators was held at Nantes in February. 
 It was a remote place, and as the Parliament of Brittany was 
 then assembled, their numbers would not be noticed. In their 
 articles or bond of agreement they swore to respect the per- 
 son of the king, but never to lay down their arms until they 
 had driven the Guises from power, brought them to trial (if 
 
 *The Defense centre les Tyrans of Hubert Languet treats of the limits of 
 obedience to kings, of the causes which justify arming, and when foreign 
 aid may be sought. Davila confesses that the Protestants were forced to 
 measures of self-defense, " per liberarsi della durezza della condizionc pre- 
 scnte." 
 
 t Barthold : Deulschland vnd die Huyuenottcn, i. p. 262. 
 
 J The " mute chief " was certainly Conde'. Belcairc calls him " ducem
 
 80 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 not worse),* and procured the suspension of every edict, both 
 old and new, against the Reformed, pending the assembly of 
 the States-General. Their plan was for each gentleman or 
 captain, of whom there were twenty, to collect a body of 
 troops in his own district, and so to arrange their march that 
 they should all arrive at Blois at the same time. The 6th of 
 March was the appointed day, afterward changed to the 1 6th, 
 when they hoped to find the Guises unprotected. It was an 
 absurd scheme, and could hardly fail to miscarry, even if it 
 had not been frustrated at the very outset by a circumstance 
 which seems never to have entered into the minds of the con- 
 spirators. The court removed from the open town of Blois 
 to the strong castle of Amboise on the Loire, in accordance 
 with arrangements which had been made some time before.f 
 That old royal residence had been forsaken by the court 
 since the death of Charles VIII. Its massive walls still tower 
 boldly on the heights above the river, and the cheerful little 
 town clusters at their feet, as if for protection. The Guises 
 accompanied, or rather followed, the king in perfect security : 
 they did not so much as know that La Renaudie was in the 
 kingdom. They had heard rumors of plots, and warning let- 
 ters had been sent them from Spain, Italy, Germany, and Sa- 
 voy; but nothing reached them in a definite form until some 
 days after their arrival at Amboise, when one of La Renau- 
 die's friends J betrayed him to the Cardinal of Lorraine. " The 
 
 * "At si viribus supcriores fnisscnt, hand iliibium quin utrumque [of the 
 Guises] immaniter trucidavcrint, quibus Franciscum Stuardumque rcginam 
 addidissent, aut saltern hanc ad Elizabethan! Angliae reginam, temulam et 
 ejus conjwalionis consciam, (?) nrisissent." Belcarins : Rer. Call. Comment. 
 There is not the slightest ground for supposing Elizabeth knew any thing of 
 the Amboise plot. 
 
 t " The French king removeth hence toward Amboise the 5th February." 
 Killigrew to Queen, 28th Jan. 15GO ; Forbes, i. pp. 315, 320. " The 23d, 
 the French king arrived, which was two days sooner than he was looked 
 for." Forbes, i. p. 334. 
 
 t Of this DCS Avenelles there arc very contradictory accounts. lie was 
 rewarded with a judicial appointment in Lorraine, and DC Thou adds that 
 he remained a Protestant until death.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 81 
 
 duke and the cardinal have discovered a conspiracy against 
 themselves, which they have bruited (to make the matter more 
 odious) to be meant only against the king ; whereupon they 
 are in such fear as themselves do wear privy-coats [of mail], 
 and are in the night guarded with pistoliers and men in arms. 
 
 . . . On the 6th they watched all night long in the court, 
 and the gates of the town were kept shut." * The cardinal 
 was indeed thoroughly frightened ; but the duke, acting with 
 great promptitude, strengthened the garrison by troops hasti- 
 ly drawn together from every quarter. Still the Guises were 
 by no means free from apprehension, and Throckmorton de- 
 scribes the condition of the little town in the middle of March : 
 " The 1 7th, in the morning, about four of the clock, there ar- 
 rived a company of 150 horsemen well appointed, who ap- 
 proached the court gates and shot off their pistolets at the 
 church of the Bonhommes. Whereupon there was such an 
 alarm and running up and down in the court, as if the enemies 
 being encamped about them had sought to make an entry into 
 the castle ; and there W'as crying ' To horse ! to horse !' and a 
 watch-word given by shooting a harquebus that all men should 
 be in readiness, and the drum was striking. And this contin- 
 ued an hour and a half." Sixty gentlemen had bound them- 
 selves by a solemn oath to penetrate into Amboise during the 
 night, thirty of whom were to slip into the castle, and open 
 one of the gates to the other conspirators. But the duke was 
 on the watch, and had that gate w r alled up. Detachments of 
 troops were stationed on the roads leading to the town and 
 along the banks of the Loire, by which the various bands, 
 coming lap and ignorant of what had happened, were captured 
 or cut to pieces. In one of these encounters La Renaudie 
 was killed ; his body was quartered and exposed at the four 
 corners of the bridge. 
 
 The Duke of Guise, who, so long as there appeared to be 
 any danger, had treated his prisoners with no undue severity, 
 
 * Throckmorton to Cecil, 7th March ; Forbes, i. 353. 
 
 F
 
 82 MASSACRE or ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 soon felt himself strong enough to wreak a ferocious vengeance 
 on his enemies. He and his brother the cardinal, in the intox- 
 ication of their triumph, indulged in excesses of murder that 
 can hardly find a parallel except in the massacre of St. Bar- 
 tholomew, or the horrors of the French Revolution. The 
 streets of Amboise ran with blood ; and when the public ex- 
 ecutioners were wearied with decapitating so many victims, 
 the remainder Avere bound hand and foot and thrown into the 
 river, thus anticipating the frightful Noyades of 1793.* 
 Throckmorton writes: "This heat caused upon a sudden a 
 sharp determination to minister justice. The two men taken 
 were the same forenoon hanged, and two others for company ; 
 and afterward the same day divers were taken, and in the 
 evening nine more were hanged : all which died very assured- 
 ly and constantly for religion, in singing of psalrns. Divers 
 Avere drowned in sacks, and some appointed to die iipon the 
 wheel The 17th there were twenty-two of these reb- 
 els drowned in sacks, and the 18th at night twenty-five more. 
 Among all these which be taken there be eighteen of the 
 bravest captains of France." Twelve hundred persons are 
 computed to have perished in this massacre. The Baron of 
 Castelnau-Chalosse, and Bricquemaut, Count of Villemangis, a 
 Genevese refugee, had with others surrendered to the Duke of 
 Nemours on condition that their lives should be spared ; but 
 the Guises were not the men to be bound by such a condition, 
 when even Olivier the chancellor, not altogether a bad man, 
 declared that " a prince was not required to keep his word to 
 a rebel subject." The Duke of Nemours had given a written 
 pledge of safety, which, says Vieilleville, " vexed him greatly, 
 who was concerned only about his signature ; for if it had 
 been his mere word, he would have been able to give the lie 
 
 * " II s'cn trouvait en la riviere tantot G, 8, 10, 12, 1"> attache's a des- 
 perehes. . . . Les rues d'Amboise c'taient coulantes de sanp, et tapisse'es 
 de corps mortS, si qu'on nepouvait durer par la ville pour la puanteur et in- 
 fection." Regnier de la Planchc, p. 257 ; Montfat^on : Monuments de la 
 Xhnarchie Fr. v. p. 81 ; Forbes, i. 378.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 83 
 
 at any time to any one who might reproach him with it, and 
 that Avithout any exception, for the prince was brave and gen- 
 erous." Pretty morality for a gentleman ! When Castelnau 
 was under examination he hesitated in some of his answers, 
 upon which the Duke of Guise bade him " Speak out ; one 
 would think you are afraid." "Afraid!" retorted the bar- 
 on, " and where is the man so confident as not to be afraid, 
 on seeing himself encompassed by mortal enemies as I am, 
 when he has neither teeth nor nails with which to defend him- 
 self? In my place you would be afraid too." On being con- 
 demned for high treason he remonstrated against the charge, 
 not against the sentence, on the ground that he had undertaken 
 nothing against the king; that he had merely leagued'with. a 
 large portion of the nobility against the Guises, and that 
 " these must be made kings before he could be guilty of leze- 
 majeste." 
 
 Castelnau, like Coligny, had been taken prisoner by the 
 Spaniards, and had employed the long hours of his enforced 
 inactivity in -reading the Bible. If it did not make him a 
 Protestant, it shook his faith in the Church of Rome. In the 
 course of his examination at Amboise, Chancellor Olivier 
 taunted him with his "Puritanism." Castelnau retorted: 
 " When I saw you on my return' from Flanders, I told you 
 how I had spent my time, and you approved of it. We Avere 
 then friends ; why are we not so now ? Is it possible that you 
 spoke with sincerity when you were not in favor at court, and 
 that now, in order to please a man you despise, you are a trai- 
 tor to God and your conscience ?" The Cardinal of Lorraine 
 answered for the chancellor, upon which Castelnau appealed to 
 Guise, who replied that he knew nothing about theology. 
 " Would to Heaven you did," said the baron ; " for I esteem 
 you well enough to think that if you were as enlightened as 
 your brother the cardinal, you would follow better things." 
 A noble testimony to the character of the duke, who some- 
 what churlishly rejoined that he understood nothing but cut- 
 ting off heads. Coligny and D'Andelot, as well as Francis II.
 
 84 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 and Mary, entreated the duke and the cardinal to spare Cas- 
 telnau's life ; but the latter answered with a blasphemous 
 oath : " He shall die, and no man in France shall save him." 
 The baron died appealing to God, who would ere long visit 
 them with signal vengeance for the innocent blood they were 
 shedding. When Villemangis ascended the scaffold, he dipped 
 his hands in the blood of his comrades who had been executed 
 before him, and raising them toward heaven exclaimed : " Oh 
 Lord ! behold the blood of thy children so unjustly shed ; 
 thou wilt avenge it." 
 
 The Cardinal of Lorraine was the chief instigator of these 
 murders : in his excessive cowardice he could not think him- 
 self safe unless all his enemies were killed. They threatened 
 to Stuart him that is, to shoot him with a poisoned bullet, 
 as James Stuart had.shot President Minard ; and one morning 
 he found the f ollowing quatrain in his oratory : 
 
 Garde-toi, Cardinal, 
 Quo tu ne sois traite 
 
 A la Minardc 
 
 D'une stuarde.* 
 
 Imagining every one must be as fond of blood as himself, 
 he used to conduct the young king and queen to the ramparts, 
 or to the windows, to witness the executions,! pointing out the 
 most illustrious of the victims and mocking at their agony. 
 As they died almost all of them with firmness and serenity, he 
 bade Francis II. " look at those insolent men, whom even death 
 can not subdue. What would they not do with you, if they 
 were your masters ?" One afternoon, for these executions usual- 
 ly took place after dinner, for the amusement of the court, the 
 Duchess of Guise was present, but she could not endure the 
 ghastly spectacle. She nearly fainted away, and entering all 
 pale and trembling into the queen-mother's closet, she exclaim- 
 
 * This poisoned ball, says Brantome, was of mixed metal, so hard that no 
 armor could resist it. 
 
 t See a plate in De Leone Belg., representing the execution of Ville- 
 mangis.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 85 
 
 ed : " Oh, madame, what horrors-! I fear that a curse will 
 come upon our house, and the innocent blood rest upon our 
 heads !" 
 
 The Duke of Longueville, who had been invited to Amboise, 
 stayed away under pretext of illness, but sent one of his gen- 
 tlemen to make his excuses. Guise was at table when the 
 messenger arrived, and took advantage of the opportunity to 
 strike terror into the duke and all who opposed the Lorraine 
 faction. " Tell your master I am very well," he said, " and re- 
 port to him the viands in which I indulge." At the word a 
 tall, fine-looking man was brought in, a rope was immediate- 
 ly put round his neck, and he was hanged to a bar of the win- 
 dow before the eyes of the astonished gentleman.* 
 
 Whatever may have been the temporary success procured 
 by this ferocious victory, it disappointed the expectations of 
 the Guises.f The moral world is so constituted that crime 
 sooner or later works out its own punishment. " The butch- 
 ers," as the two Lorraine brothers were called, had converted 
 their victims into martyrs, and all over France a feeling of re- 
 sistance began to spring up that could not fail ere long to 
 have a violent termination. Most of those who suffered at 
 Amboise were of the Reformed religion; but there w T ere 
 others of the old faith who joined the conspiracy out of dis- 
 like to the duke and the cardinal, and who now began to 
 think that no hope remained except in their swords. In the 
 market-place of Amboise, where most of the victims had been 
 put to death, Theodore Agrippa d'Aubigne was sworn, like 
 
 * Tlirockmorton, writing to the Lords of the Council on the 21st March, 
 speaks of the general pardon offered the insurgents if they should disperse 
 quietly, and goes on to say: "Although things be thus calmed, yet the 
 Duke of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine live still in marvelous great 
 fear, and know not whom they may well trust." Forbes, i. 
 LDS nous estions du temps que la fureur francoisc 
 Commen9a nos malheurs au tumulte d'Amboise, 
 Nous en avons 1'horreur encor peinte en nos creurs, 
 Malheurcuse aux vaincus, dommageable aux vainqneurs. 
 
 Jean Vauquelin de la Presnaye : Les Foresteries.
 
 86 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 young Hannibal, to avenge the cause of his party. The elder 
 D'Aubigne was taking the boy to Paris, and passing through 
 Amboisc one fair-time, he saw the ghastly heads of the con- 
 spirators still grinning horribly on the walls and gates. 
 Moved with indignation, he spurred his horse into the midst 
 of the assembled crowd, exclaiming : " The murderers ! they 
 have beheaded France." Being recognized as a Calvinist, he 
 had to ride for his life, and when he was out of danger he 
 touched his son's right hand : " My boy," he said, " do not 
 spare your head to avenge the heads of those honorable gen- 
 tlemen. If you do, your father's curse be upon you." Young 
 Theodore never forgot this lesson, and his life was one long 
 
 O 7 O 
 
 heroic, if not always wise, devotion to the Reformed cause. 
 
 During the first terror inspired by the news of the con- 
 spiracy, an attempt had been made to secure the neutrality of 
 the Reformed by issuing a proclamation to the effect, that " all 
 persons (saving such as be preachers) detained in prison on 
 account of their religion, should be immediately released "- 
 on condition, however, that they lived as good Catholics like 
 the rest of the people. This act of grace was issued (15th 
 March) by the advice of Coligny, who having been hastily 
 summoned to Amboise (partly to try how far he was cogni- 
 zant of the plot), told the queen-mother plainly in a private 
 audience that " the Huguenots had so increased in number 
 and were so exasperated that they could not be induced to re- 
 turn to their duty, unless the persecutions and violent meas- 
 ures of the administration were suspended." Chancellor 
 Olivier was of the same opinion. " It is better to use mild 
 measures than strong ones," he said. At the same time in- 
 structions were sent to the Parliaments to make secret protests 
 while registering the edict, so as to render it nugatory. Six 
 days after it was issued, the Duke of Guise was named lieu- 
 tenant-general (17th. March, 1560). The pope sent a special 
 envoy to France complaining of the amnesty, and to point out 
 that " the true remedy for the disorders of the kingdom was 
 to proceed judicially against the heretics, and if their number
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 87 
 
 was too great, the king should employ the sword to bring his 
 subjects back to their duty." He offered to assist in so good 
 a work to the extent of his ability, and to procure the support 
 of the King of Spain and the princes of Italy. 
 
 It was not Catherine's policy to crush the Huguenots en- 
 tirely, and she appears to have taken some pains to conciliate 
 them. In this tumult of Amboise (which could hardly have 
 been displeasing to her, considering her antagonism to the 
 Guises) she saw her opportunity, and sent for Regnier de la 
 Planche, that she might learn his opinion as to the state of af- 
 fairs. Regnier, who was a man of great political experience 
 and moderation, told her frankly that the religious persecu- 
 tions "had armed many of the Huguenots, while the favor shown 
 to the Guises had increased the number of the discontented. 
 He also argued that a national council was the only means for 
 settling the religious differences. The advice was not very 
 well received, and La Plauche nearly suffered for his plain- 
 speaking. Coligny, who had left Amboise to try and pacify 
 Normandy, then almost in open rebellion, wrote to the same 
 effect to the queen-mother, advising also the assembling of the 
 States-General. 
 
 No sooner was the panic over and the Guises once more felt 
 secure, than the religious persecutions were renewed with all 
 their former severity. The old edicts against the Christau- 
 dins or Sacramentarians were revived, and commissions were 
 appointed to receive secret evidence. To make the persecu- 
 tion more effectual, the Cardinal of Lorraine tried once more 
 to introduce all the forms of the Inquisition without the name, 
 and obtained a resolution of the royal council entrusting the 
 entire cognizance of heresy to the prelates of the Church, and 
 ordering that their sentence should be final, the heretics being 
 handed over to the secular arm for punishment. L'Hopital, 
 the new chancellor, resisted the encroachment on the broad 
 grounds that the right of trial and punishment of all offenses 
 whether against person, property, or religion (except in 
 the case of ecclesiastics) lay with the king ; that the right of
 
 88 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 appeal to the royal tribunals could not be taken away; and 
 that the judgment on those appeals should be delivered by lay 
 judges. lie succeeded thus far in establishing the axiom, 
 that " no power in the state possessed sovereign authority of 
 life or death over the subjects of such state, except the king." 
 But he was compelled to yield in other points, and being of 
 opinion that it is politic to permit a small mischief to escape 
 a greater, he gave an unwilling consent to the edict of Romo- 
 rantin (May, 1560), which declared that the cognizance of here- 
 sy should remain with the bishops, who were to proceed in the 
 usual manner. This was a great sacrifice to intolerance, but 
 it really gave the bishops no new power. Other clauses de- 
 clared all persons attending conventicles guilty of high trea- 
 son, and assigned a reward of 500 crowns to informers ; to 
 which the singular provision was appended, that all calum- 
 nious informers should be subjected to ihepeine du talion, in 
 other words, suffer the punishment to which their victims were 
 liable. To a certain extent this edict recognized the com- 
 plaints of the Reformers by ordering the bishops to reside in 
 their dioceses, and the parish priests to tend their flocks more 
 carefully, teach them properly, and live among them. The 
 new chancellor might well be proud of his work, the first hesi- 
 tating step in the path of toleration. The Parliament of Paris 
 refused to register the decree on the ground that it encroached 
 on the civil power, and L'Hopital had to struggle for ten days 
 before he could overcome their resistance. The fear of a rep- 
 etition of the " tumult of Amboisc " had frightened the Car- 
 dinal of Lorraine into accepting the edict ; but his brother 
 Francis bluntly declared he would never draw the s-word in 
 its defense. This was quite in his style, for he hated the Re- 
 formed not only because they were rebels against the Church, 
 but because they were attached to the Bourbon princes. Na- 
 varre, indeed, was not very formidable, it being always possi- 
 ble to hold him in check by playing upon his selfishness ; but 
 his brother, the Prince of Conde, Avas a high-spirited, clever, 
 resolute man, one to be kept down by all means.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 89 
 
 In reading the history of this period it must be constantly 
 borne in mind, that the religious malcontents were often po- 
 litical malcontents also,* their numtter being increased by all 
 who hated the monopoly of power so tenaciously held by the 
 Guises. The small gentry, who in a spirit of opposition had 
 accepted the Reformed doctrines, brought a new and fatal 
 element into the movement. Despising Calvin's advice to 
 bear injuries, and that opposition to lawful authority is a 
 crime, they were secretly preparing the means of resistance, 
 which their ecclesiastical organization greatly facilitated. The 
 impetuous gentlemen and soldiers returned insult for insult, 
 and blow for blow. Thus day by day the political character 
 of the Huguenots f (as the Reformers were called after the af- 
 fair of Amboise) became more prominent. It was a deplora- 
 ble but almost inevitable result of the combination against the 
 house of Lorraine, and it proved the temporary destruction of 
 French Protestantism. Ere long France was divided into two 
 hostile camps ; and although this will not excuse the harshness 
 with which the Huguenots were treated, it will in. some measure 
 account for it. The Romish party were contending not only 
 for religion but for supremacy, for place, for authority. Who 
 should govern the king and the state was a question now quite 
 as important as which faith was right, that of Geneva or of 
 Rome ? The age was one of great superstition and ignorance, 
 and the foulest rumors were circulated against the Protest- 
 ants, and greedily swallowed. Claude Haton, who has left us 
 a striking and truthful picture of his time, supplies us with a 
 curious illustration of the popular faith touching* the Hugue- 
 
 * Tai Handier: Xouv. RecJierchcs sur de THopital, p. 273 (Paris, 18G1). 
 ' Lcs Huynenvts de religion, pour ne pouvoir supporter plus la rigucur et crn- 
 aute' exerce'csa 1'encontre d'eux ; et les Huguenots d'etat, pour ne plus corn- 
 porter I'nsnrpatioa faite par lesdits de Guise." Commentaires, p. G3. This 
 is what Regnicr dc la Plancho told the queen-mother. 
 
 t There has been much dispute about the origin of this word, but it prob- 
 ably came from Geneva, where the citizens had long been divided into two 
 politico-religions parties, known as the Mamelukes and Huguenots. Merle 
 d'Aubigne' : Reformation in Time of Calvin, vol. i. p. 118.
 
 90 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 nots. He says that mad dogs had decreased so much during 
 the last two years that people believed the devils had left the 
 dogs and entered into the Reformers.* The Catholics were 
 by no means scrupulous as to the weapons they employed to 
 exasperate the fierce passions of the lower classes. There 
 were few who could read the pamphlets, ballads, or broadsides 
 which the printers poured forth with astonishing profusion ; 
 but all could understand the rude wood-cuts in which the Hu- 
 guenots were represented as nailing iron shoes on the bare feet 
 of a pious hermit, or making a target of a priest nailed to a 
 cross. The pulpit was turned into an arena for abuse, whence 
 the monks, who were far more inveterate against the Reform- 
 ers than the secular clergy, inveighed with all the power of 
 their lungs, and the copiousness of their abusive vocabulary, 
 against the new doctrines and its professors. The Huguenots 
 and their allies were not slow to retaliate, and in fierce invec- 
 tive were by no means inferior to their persecutors. The most 
 notorious of their satires, or " libels," was that known as The 
 Tiger,\ written against the Cardinal of Lorraine,-and for sell- 
 ing which in the ordinary course of business, a poor Parisian 
 book-seller J was arrested in June, 1560, tortured to make him 
 give up the name of the author, which probably he did not 
 know, and then hanged. An unfortunate spectator, a mer- 
 chant of Rouen, who had manifested some compassion for the 
 fate of poor Martin Lhomme, was arrested and executed four 
 days after as an accomplice. 
 
 It was a time of almost universal lawlessness. "Every 
 day," w T rites,Throckmorton to Cecil, " there are advertisements 
 of new stirs."|| There was no public protection, no law en- 
 
 * Claude repeats nil the popular scandals against the Protestants, but he 
 speaks generally, refraining from charging with such infamies those of his 
 own town (Provins), whom he knew from personal observation. 
 
 t See note at end of chapter. 
 
 J "Panperculus librarius." DeThou. 
 
 Kcgnicr do la Planche : De tEstat de France, pp. 312, 313 (Coll. du 
 Pantheon). 
 
 || Wright's Elizabeth, i. p. 33.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 91 
 
 forced ; every man had to protect himself as best he could. 
 In Paris, the insecurity of life and property was notorious. 
 The Catholics armed themselves against the Huguenots, and 
 these in their turn procured arms in self-defense. Even priests 
 and monks shouldered the spear and arquebuse, and became 
 captains of companies. And when the war did really break 
 out, such victors would not be very merciful, especially when 
 the vanquished had imported a new element into the strife by 
 defiling the churches, destroying the images, and ridiculing 
 the ceremonies. There were many Huguenots who disgraced 
 the name they assumed ; but had they all been pious, the tri- 
 umphant Romanist would not have spared them. The cause 
 of pure religion suffered much from the violence of these hot- 
 headed partisans. At Rheims the " Lutherans " ate meat pub- 
 licly in Lent, broke the lanterns before the image of the Vir- 
 gin over the great door of the cathedral, and prowled about 
 at night defacing the crosses and pictures. One Gillet, a law- 
 yer, drove a priest from a chapel, seized the alms in the poor- 
 box, and gave the sacerdotal robes to his wife, who made caps 
 and other articles of feminine attire out of them. At Rouen, 
 when a Catholic priest spoke of purgatory, in his sermon, the 
 Huguenots called him " a fool," and the children who had 
 been trained for the purpose, imitated the amorous noises of 
 cats. The Reformed doctrine was introduced into Brittany 
 in 1558 by Andelot. At Croisic the "new apostles" were so 
 bold as to preach in the principal church, Notre Dame de 
 Pitie, of which the people and clergy complained as soon as 
 Andelot's back was turned. The bishop of the diocese 
 marched in solemn procession through the streets, after which 
 the clergy attacked with a large culverine a house in which 
 the preachers had taken refuge. The inmates, nineteen in 
 number, escaped during the night, and the prelate was very 
 properly condemned by the government, " such violent prac- 
 tices being unusual in the kingdom," which certainly was not 
 a correct statement. 
 
 It was supposed that a general council by restoring unity
 
 92 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 to the Church would cure many of the evils under which 
 France suffered. The queen-mother supported this opinion, 
 and we may imagine we hear her speaking in a letter written 
 by Francis II. to the Bishop of Limoges: "The, Church of 
 God," he says, " will never enjoy peace or rest, never shall w T e 
 see the end of the troubles and calamities which this religious 
 division is bringing over all the Christian world, unless a gen- 
 eral council be convened. ... It is notorious that the Coun- 
 cil of Trent has not been received or approved by Germany 
 or by the Protestants, who have attacked its authority, as 
 having been held without them. . . . We Christian princes 
 ought to try by all means to invite the Protestants and Ger- 
 mans to the council, ... it being my opinion that it had bet- 
 ter not open at all, if the Germans and Protestants are not in- 
 vited, for it would be labor in vain." Such was the tone in 
 which the king wrote to the pope, and such were the senti- 
 ments he desired Limoges to lay before the King of Spain. 
 He even went so far as to threaten to hold a national council, 
 if the pope were obstinate. " It is undeniable," he said, " that 
 there are so many abuses in the manners of churchmen, that 
 there are but few of them who do their duty. Now this neg- 
 lect breeds that contempt for divine things, by which men 
 are led to forsake God and fall into those errors wherein we 
 now see them." In a similar strain he wrote to the Bishop of 
 Rennes, his embassador at the imperial court.* 
 
 In a somewhat similar tone wrote the Cardinal of Lorraine 
 to the same bishop, urging the necessity of a council, and 
 blaming the coldness of the pope. He complains of the " piti- 
 ful condition into which religion had fallen," and declares a 
 council to be " the only remedy for all our ills." In nearly 
 the same words writes Florimond de Robertet, secretary of 
 state, adding that the king was resolved at all events " to con- 
 voke an assembly of notables." 
 
 These opinions compared with the instructions given to the 
 French prelates at the Council of Trent may be taken as evi- 
 * Aubeajnne Correspondence, pp. 431, 433, 434, 442, 501.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 93 
 
 dence that the court was sincere in its desire to purify the 
 national church. Those ecclesiastics were to demand that the 
 ceremonial should be corrected and all other things whereby 
 the ignorant might be abused under a show of piety ; that the 
 cup should be restored to the laity ; that the sacraments should 
 be administered in the vulgar tongue; that during mass the 
 Word of God should be read and interpreted, and the young 
 people should be catechised, to the end that ah 1 might be in- 
 structed in what they should believe, and how they should live 
 so as to please God; that prayers should be offered up in 
 French, and that certain times should be appointed, as well at 
 high mass as at vespers, wherein it might be lawful to sing 
 psalms in the church. The prelates were also instructed to 
 complain of the unchaste lives of the clergy.* 
 
 There can be little doubt, therefore, that in the summer of 
 1560 France was on the brink of a great religious change, per- 
 haps of a national reformation. Catherine de Medicis inclined 
 toward it, not that she cared much about creeds, but because 
 it seemed an admirable political weapon ready to her hand. 
 The Cardinal of Lorraine did not oppose it, probably hoping 
 to increase his wealth by the plunder of the Church, #f ter the 
 English example. All moderate-minded people wished for a 
 reformation that did not involve separation from Rome. 
 Even the violent Gaspard de Saulx-Tavannes listened for once 
 to the voice of common sense : " Mass ought not to be said in 
 French, no change or reform should be introduced into the 
 ceremonies without the approval of a general council. Never- 
 theless, I must confess (he added) that the people would be 
 much more stirred up to devotion, if they heard in their own 
 tongue the chants of the priests and the psalms that are sung 
 in church." 
 
 While these conciliatory measures were under discussion in 
 the royal council-chamber, the difference between the two 
 
 * The instructions were signed by the Kinjj and Catherine, Guise, Mont- 
 morency, the Cardinal of Lorraine, L'Hopitnl, and Charles of Bonrbon. Sec 
 LePlat, v.'p. 5G1.
 
 94 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 creeds was growing wider. The Reformers had increased so 
 greatly in many of the large towns, particulai'ly in the south 
 and west (as we shall presently see), that in defiance of the 
 edicts they gave up their secret meetings in woods and barns, 
 and worshiped in public. The king wrote to Tavannes re- 
 specting the troubles in Dauphiny, ordering him to collect 
 troops and " cut the religious rebels in pieces. . . . There is 
 nothing I desire more than to exterminate them utterly, and so 
 tear them up by the roots that no fresh ones may arise. . . . 
 Chastise them without mercy." * Six months later (Oct., 1 560) 
 the king sent Paul de la Barthe, marshal of Termes, to Poitiers 
 with 200 men-at-arms to check heresy, and particularly to 
 " catch the ministers and punish them soundly." They were to 
 be hanged without trial. He was to permit no assemblies, and 
 if any were held, he was to fall upon them with the sword. " I 
 beg of you, cousin," he wrote, " to sweep the country clear of 
 such rabble who disturb the world." f Such orders were the 
 fruit of the Guise government ; it is but just, however, to say, 
 that it is doubtful whether this letter was sent to the marshal, 
 probably because on reflection it appeared too cruel. The 
 Count of Villars, describing the effect produced by this mer- 
 ciless persecution, writes : " Part of the inhabitants of Nismes, 
 to the number of 3000 or 4000, have retired into the mount- 
 ains of the Gevaudan, whence they threaten to descend into 
 the plain, in which case those who appear the most submissive 
 will infallibly join them. The heresy extends every day." 
 As for the prisoners, he continues, their number is so great 
 that it is impossible to put them all to death. On the 1 2th Oc- 
 tober, 1560, he informs the constable that he has burned two 
 mule-loads of books from Geneva, valued at 1000 crowns, and 
 set free a number of women on their promise " to live in obe- 
 dience to God, the Roman Church, and the King." J In the 
 same month the magistrates of Anjou complain to the cardi- 
 nal, that " the seditious remnants of Amboise, uniting with the 
 
 * Aubcspine : Corresp. 12th April, 1560, pp. 342, 361. 
 t Ibid. 1st October, 1560. % Hid. p. 655.
 
 MASSACKE OF ST. BAKTHOLOMEW. 95 
 
 depraved nobility to the number of 1000 or 1200, celebrate 
 the communion and disturb the country." * 
 
 As the barbarous orders of the court could not be kept se- 
 cret, they only served to exasperate the Huguenots. Becom- 
 ing more aggressive, they appropriated many of the churches 
 to their own use, turning out the priests, whom they often 
 cruelly maltreated. The sacred edifices they purified, as they 
 called it, by destroying the pictures, breaking down the roods, 
 throwing away the relics, and giving the consecrated wafer to 
 swine. We can hardly picture to ourselves the horror excited 
 in Catholic minds by such outrages. It may be compared 
 with the thrill of agony that ran through England, when the 
 atrocities of the Sepoy mutiny became known. The Duke of 
 Guise retaliated with unrelenting ferocity. He was governor 
 of Dauphiny, and, to intimidate that province, he ordered one 
 Maugiron, a creature of his and afterward governor of Lyons, 
 to make an example of the people of Valence and Romans. 
 These places were taken by a foul stratagem, two of the Iln- 
 guenot ministers were beheaded, and the principal citizens 
 were hanged, and their houses given up to pillage. One fe- 
 rocity begot another. Two Reformed gentlemen, Montbrun 
 and Mouvans, raised the country, destroying or defiling 
 churches, opening convents and turning out the inmates, espe- 
 cially the nuns, and ill-using the priests, and defiantly celebrat- 
 ing public worship under arms. The subsequent history of 
 Anthony Derichiend, seigneur of Mouvans, furnishes a strik- 
 ing illustration of the lawlessness and insecurity of the times. 
 Being tired of war, he and his brother Paul returned to their 
 homes at Castellane in Provence, intending to pass the remain- 
 der of their days in God's service. They did not, however, 
 find the quiet they had expected. They were much annoyed 
 by their neighbors, and during Lent a grey friar went into the 
 pulpit and so inflamed the people against them that they were 
 besieged in their own house by a mob of several hundred 
 
 * Aubcspine : Corresp. 1 4th October, 1560.
 
 96 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 men. They escaped this peril, and Anthony appealed to Hen- 
 ry for protection, which was granted (1559). While he was 
 on his way to Grenoble, to lay his case before the Parliament, 
 as the king had bidden him, he halted at Draguignan. The 
 children, instigated by certain priests, began to hoot at him as 
 " a Lutheran," and in a short time a fierce mob crowded 
 round the house in which he had taken shelter. Hoping to 
 save his life, he surrendered into the hands of the officers of 
 justice, who were too weak, and probably not over-anxious, to 
 protect him. The mob tore him out of their hands, beat him 
 to death, and inflicted brutalities on his corpse which it is im- 
 possible to describe. Among other things they plucked out 
 his heart and other portions, and carried them on sticks tri- 
 umphantly round the town. One of the wretches offered a 
 morsel of the liver to a dog which refused to touch it. With 
 a kick and an oath the man howled out : " Are you too a 
 Lutheran like Mouvans ?" * An inquiry was ordered into the 
 outrage, but the passions of all the province were too much 
 excited -to permit justice to be done. "You have killed the 
 old one," said one of the royal commissioners, " why don't you 
 kill the young one ? I would not give a straw for your cour- 
 age. Down with all these rascally Lutherans, kill them all." 
 Paul now took up arms, and after inflicting much damage 
 upon his adversaries, was finally compelled to take refuge at 
 Geneva. 
 
 Of the morals of these " rascally Lutherans " in this part of 
 France, we have the unimpeachable testimony of Procureur 
 Marquet of Valence, who says that, for the eight years he held 
 the office of town-clerk, not a day passed but his registers 
 were full of complaints of outrages of every kind committed 
 during the night. The streets were unsafe after dark, and the 
 citizens were not secure from robbery and violence even in 
 their own houses. Then he adds : " But after the preaching 
 of the Gospel, all that was altered, as if a change of life had 
 
 * Regnier de la Planchc, p. 200.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 97 
 
 accompanied a change of doctrine." Xo one was found bold 
 enough to contradict such testimony. 
 
 One of the first persons to raise his voice against the perse- 
 cution of the Huguenots was L'Hopital, the chancellor. In 
 his inaugural address to the Parliament of Paris (5th July, 
 1560) he boldly declared the Church to be the cause of the re- 
 ligious disorders through its evil example ; the soldiers were 
 unpaid and justified their violence; the mass of the people 
 both in town and country were ignorant and wicked, because 
 the priests preached to them about tithes and offerings, and said 
 nothing about godly living ; and that the only remedy was a 
 general council. He went on to argue that the diseases of the 
 mind are not to be healed like those of the body, adding, that 
 " though a man may recant he does not change his heart." * 
 
 In this address L'Hopital spoke the sentiments of a small 
 but increasing party which, under the name of the "politi- 
 cians," tried to hold a balance between the Huguenots and 
 the Romanists. They might indeed be called " constitutional- 
 ists," for there is no doubt their secret desire was to put an 
 end to the ministerial usurpation and despotism of the Guises. 
 They maintained that the dissidents had a right to be heard ; 
 but their arguments would have been ineffectual had the ex- 
 chequer been in a flourishing condition. The government 
 was in extreme want of money, the annual expenditure ex- 
 ceeding the income by nearly three millions of livres. Loans 
 could only be raised at exorbitant rates of interest, and to im- 
 pose new taxes would only increase the disorders of the coun- 
 try and perhaps drive the peasants into another Jacquerie. 
 Thus all parties came at last to agree in the necessity of call- 
 ing the States-General together ; preliminary to which letters 
 patent were issued, convening an assembly of Notables at Fon- 
 tainebleau, these Notables being persons of rank and influence 
 
 * " Quand un hommc ayant mauvaise opinion faisait I'nmende honorable, 
 et prononcjait les mots d'icellc, il ne changeait pour ccla son cceur, fopinion 
 se muant par oraisons a LUeu, parole, et raison pcrsuadee." Commentaires, 
 p. 73 verso. 
 
 G
 
 98 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 among the nobles and clergy, knights of the order of St. Mi- 
 chael, and lawyers. 
 
 The king was escorted to the place of meeting by a strong 
 guard, in addition to the troops under the command of the 
 Guises. The general distrust and insecurity were shown by 
 the number of armed men who accompanied the great chief- 
 tains of each party. The constable was attended by his two 
 sons, Marshals Montmorency and Damville, and followed by 
 eight hundred gentlemen on horseback. Coligny, Andelot, 
 the Vidame of Chartres, and Prince Porcien entered with nine 
 hundred of the inferior nobility. The meeting was opened 
 on the 21st August, in the apartments of Catherine de Medi- 
 cis. Grouped around the young king were his brothers and 
 their mother ; the Cardinals of Bourbon, Lorraine, Guise, and 
 Chatillon ; the Dukes of Guise and Aumale, the Constable and 
 the Admiral ; Marshals St. Andre and Brissac, the knights of 
 the order, and other privy councilors. The two princes of 
 the blood (Navarre and Conde) were absent, having (it is 
 said) come to an arrangement with Coligny never to be pres- 
 ent at the same place with him lest they should all be caught 
 in the trap at once. Francis II. opened the proceedings with 
 a few complimentary phrases, and then deputed his chancellor 
 to lay before the members the condition of the country. 
 L'Hopital, who had succeeded Olivier through the influence of 
 the Duchess of Montpensier, a special favorite of Catherine's, 
 was not a man of illustrious birth ; but by industry, integrity, 
 and learning, he had risen step by step .to the highest office in 
 the state. . On this occasion, with rather less prolixity than was 
 customary in those days, he described the state as being sick, 
 the Church corrupted, justice weakened, the nobles disorder- 
 ly, and the zeal and loyalty which the people were wont to 
 show the king wonderfully cooled ; and that the* remedy for 
 all these evils was hard to find. He did not so much as ven- 
 ture to hint at one of the remedies ; but at the second sitting, 
 two days later (22d August), Coligny boldly opened up the 
 matter by presenting a petition from the Huguenots, in which
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 99 
 
 they justified their faith by Scripture, asserted their loyalty 
 and love for the king, professed that they had never under- 
 stood their duty so well toward their sovereign as since they 
 had been converted to the new doctrine, prayed that a stop 
 might be put to the cruel persecutions under which they were 
 suffering, and asked permission to read the Bible and hold 
 their meetings in open day, offering in return " to pay larger 
 tribute than the rest of His Majesty's subjects." Strange to 
 say, the prayer of the petition was supported by two high ec- 
 clesiastical dignitaries John de Montluc, Bishop of Valence, 
 and Charles de Marillac, Archbishop of Vienne. Montluc was 
 an eloquent speaker, much esteemed for his experience in pub- 
 lic affairs and knowledge of sacred literature. He denounced 
 the severities and tyranny of the judges toward the Luther- 
 ans, and charged the Guises with violating the laws of the 
 kingdom and sowing dissensions between the king and his 
 subjects. He described the superior clergy as "idlers not 
 having the fear of God before their eyes, or that they would 
 have to give an account of their flocks," adding that their only 
 care was for the revenue of their sees, and that thirty or forty 
 of them were non-resident, leading scandalous lives in Paris ; 
 the inferior clergy he characterized as ignorant and avaricious. 
 He went on to say : " Let your majesty see that the word of 
 God be no more profaned, but let the Scriptures be every- 
 where read and explained with purity and sincerity. Let the 
 Gospel be preached daily in your house, so that the mouths of 
 those may be shut who say that God's name is never heard 
 there." Then turning to the two queens, Mary Stuart and 
 Catherine de Medicis, he continued : " Pardon me, ladies, if I 
 dare entreat you to order your damsels to sing not foolish 
 songs, but the Psalms of David and spiritual hymns ; and re- 
 member that the eye of God is over all men and in all places, 
 and is fixed there only where his name is praised and exalt- 
 ed." The remedy he proposed, and which had been men- 
 tioned in the petition presented by Coligny, was a general 
 council.
 
 100 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 In one part of his speech, when giving a sketch of the prog- 
 ress of Reform in France, he passed a noble compliment on 
 its ministers : " The doctrine," he said, " which finds favor 
 with your subjects has not been sown in one or two days, but 
 has taken thirty years : it was brought in by 300 or 400 min- 
 isters, men of diligence and learning, of great modesty, grav- 
 ity, and apparent holiness, professing to detest all vice, espe- 
 cially avarice ; fearing not to lose their lives so that they might 
 enforce their teaching, having Jesus Christ always on their 
 lips .... a name so sweet that it opens the closest ears and 
 sinks easily into the hearts of the most hardened. These 
 preachers, finding the people without pastor or guide, with no 
 one to instruct or teach them, were received readily, and list- 
 ened to wiUingly. So that we need not be surprised if great 
 numbers have embraced this new doctrine, which has been 
 proclaimed by so many preachers and books." On the other 
 hand, he said that bishoprics were frequently bestowed upon 
 children, and benefices conferred upon cooks, barbers and lac- 
 queys. 
 
 Marillac, who had learned experience as embassador at the 
 court of Charles V., used similar but stronger language : he 
 spoke of the " corrupted discipline of the Church, of multi- 
 plied abuses, frequent scandals, and licentious ministers," and 
 agreed that the only remedy lay in a national council. " To pre- 
 pare the way for that council," he said, " three or four things 
 are necessary. Firstly, all the bishops, without exception, 
 must be forced to reside in their dioceses. Secondly, we must 
 show by our actions that we are determined to reform our- 
 selves, and to that end we must put down simony. For spirit- 
 ual things are given by God freely without money : gratis ac- 
 cepistis, gratis date. Thirdly, we must fast and confess our 
 sins, which is the first step toward a cure. Fourthly, both fac- 
 tions must lay down their arms." The next day Coligny de- 
 fended the petition he had presented. " The king," he said, 
 " was beloved and not hated ; and the people did not like to be 
 kept from him. All the discontent was against those who
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 101 
 
 managed affairs, and would easily be quieted, if they would 
 rule according to the laws of the kingdom." He advised the 
 assembling of the States-General and the dimissal of the guard, 
 which was not required for the protection of the sovereign. 
 He also suggested the relaxation of the persecutions until the 
 assembling of a council. "But your petition," said Francis 
 II., "has no signatures." "That is true, Sire," replied the 
 admiral ; " but if you will allow us to meet for the purpose, I 
 will in one day obtain in Xormandy alone 50,000 signatures." 
 "And I," said the Duke of Guise,* interrupting him, "will 
 find 100,000 good Catholics to bteak their heads." He then 
 contended that a royal guard had become necessary since the 
 affair of Amboise. " My brother and I," he said, " have never 
 offended or given cause of discontent to any as regards their 
 private affairs." The Cardinal of Lorraine argued that, to 
 permit the Reformed to have their temples and the right of 
 public worship was to approve of their " idolatry," which the 
 king could not do without the risk of eternal damnation.f 
 Ho denied the loyalty of the petitioners, " who are obedient 
 only on condition that the king should be of their opinion and 
 their sect, or at least approves of it." He gloried in the ani- 
 mosity of the Huguenots, adding (as if aside) "there are 
 twenty-two of their libels against me now on my table, and I 
 intend to preserve them very carefully." In conclusion he 
 called for the severest measures against such " of the religion " 
 as should take up arms ; but as for those who went unarmed 
 to the sermon, sang psalms, and kept away from mass, he did 
 not advise their punishment, seeing that all severity hitherto 
 had been useless. He even expressed regret that they should 
 have been so cruelly treated, and offered his life if that could 
 bring the stray sheep back to the fold. He ended with an ex- 
 hortation to the clergy to reform themselves, and desired that 
 
 * Commentaires, p. 101 verso. Regnier assigns the duke's retort to his 
 hrother the Cardinal. See also Mignet, Journal des Savants, 1859, p. 25 ; 
 Bouille : Hist. Guise, ii. p. 86. 
 
 t " Sans etre perpetuellement damne'." Mayer, tats yen. x. 296.
 
 102 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 the bishops and others should inquire into the abuses of the 
 Church and report thereon to the king. Of good words and 
 good resolutions the cardinal always had an ample store upon 
 which he could draw at will. They were mere counters with 
 which to play the game of politics. 
 
 The discussion, which also embraced the subject of the tu- 
 mult of Amboise, the severity of the retaliation, and the alarm- 
 ing increase of the royal body-guard (which was denounced 
 in nearly the same terms as our ancestors complained of a 
 standing army), resulted in a decision to convene, first, the 
 States-General, and, afterward, a national council, to decide 
 upon the religious faith of the French people. The King of 
 Spain remonstrated through his embassador against the meet- 
 ing of the States, on the ground that it would " puff up the 
 Huguenots ;" and offered his aid to chastise them. But 
 money was wanted, and the court was prepared to make any 
 temporary sacrifice in order to procure supplies. The Vene- 
 tian embassador saw the importance of this official recognition 
 of the Reformed party. " Either their desires will be satisfied," 
 he says, " or else, if any attempt is made to keep them obe- 
 dient to the pope, the court must resort to force, shed pitiless- 
 ly the blood of the nobility, divide the kingdom into two par- 
 ties, and come to a civil war, which will destroy both country 
 and religion. . . . Religious changes always lead the way to 
 political changes ;" * an assertion which is only partially true. 
 Political and religious changes, when national and not merely 
 personal, are produced by the operation of similar causes ; 
 and which change shall come first depends upon circumstances 
 that appear to vary in every case. In 1560 the Venetian em- 
 bassador certainly had not sufficient data from which to draw 
 so sweeping a conclusion. The court saw no danger in the 
 proposed assemblies, and writs were issued for the States-Gen- 
 eral to meet in December, 1560, at Meaux in Brie, and for a 
 national council of bishops and other church dignitaries to 
 
 * Baschet, p. 506.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 103 
 
 assemble at Pontoise on the following month of January. 
 The letters of convocation ran that " they were to confer to- 
 gether and resolve what should be laid before a general coun- 
 cil ; and until that should assemble, the clergy were to sus- 
 pend all proceedings against heretics, and correct the abuses 
 that had gradually crept into the house of God." * 
 
 After the Amboise failure, Anthony of Navarre kept him- 
 self aloof at Nerac in Gascony, where he was joined by his 
 brother Conde, who had openly professed the new religion. 
 The latter succeeded in inspiring the king with some of his 
 own spirit, but could not induce him to take any step that 
 would commit him with the Lorraine party. Meanwhile the 
 little town on the Baise became the general rendezvous of all 
 the discontented, who, undismayed by the past, were quite as 
 ready to act as to speak. But there was no one to lead them, 
 for the eldest of the Bourbon line still hesitated. It was sup- 
 posed that a remonstrance from the whole Huguenot body 
 might move him, and with that intent the chiefs of the Prot- 
 estant party laid before him " a supplication," in which they 
 (to the number of more than a million) offered him the dispos- 
 al of their lives and fortunes, provided he would make com- 
 mon cause with them by putting himself at their head ; threat- 
 ening, in case of refusal, to choose another leader, native or 
 foreign* The supplication was nominally addressed to both 
 princes, but was really intended for Navarre alone, who how- 
 ever was not bold enough to act upon it. 
 
 At the same time the Guises, repenting that they had per- 
 mitted Conde, " the dumb chief," to leave Amboise, began to 
 strengthen their hands. Duke Francis, now lieutenant-gener- 
 al of the kingdom, having full control over the military re- 
 sources of the country, increased the royal body-guard by the 
 addition of several regiments, the command of which he gave 
 to the infamous Du Plessis-Richelieu, one time a monk but 
 now a soldier. He also received troops from Scotland, kept 
 
 * Mayer: Coll. Etats yen. x. p. 310.
 
 104. MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 up the veteran regiments of Brissac, which had just returned 
 from Italy, and negotiated for the assistance of Swiss and 
 German mercenaries. This step, as we shall see, necessarily 
 drove the Huguenots to seek foreign help. Meanwhile the 
 King of Navarre and his brother appear to have entered into 
 a new plot against the Guises, of which a general Huguenot 
 insurrection formed a part. It was to begin with the seizure 
 of Lyons, an important town close to the Swiss frontier and 
 on the northern border of the most Protestant portion of 
 France. Here Conde was to rally all the disaffected nobility 
 and gentry, while Navarre headed a similar rising in the west. 
 This plot, even more obscure than that of Amboise, came to 
 nothing, beyond implicating the two Bourbon princes, whose 
 share in it is, nevertheless, somewhat doubtful. This was an- 
 other triumph for the house of Lorraine, who determined to 
 crush their rivals at once and forever. Francis II. proceed- 
 ed to Orleans escorted by a numerous guard. The Prince of 
 Roche-sur-Yon was made governor for the occasion; the gar- 
 risons from the neighboring towns were called in, which, added 
 to the king's escort of 4000 foot, composed a force of nearly 
 10,000 men. Hither the two brothers were summoned to ex- 
 plain their conduct, and the Count of Crussol, the bearer of the 
 letters, was instructed to hint that resistance was hopeless, as 
 the king could bring against them 48,000 French troops be- 
 sides Swiss and German lansquenets. Moreover the King of 
 Spain had promised to assist with two large armies, one enter- 
 ing France by Picardy, the other by the Pyrenees. Anthony 
 at first held back, despite these hints, and had he been as en- 
 terprising as his brother, he might soon have been at the head 
 of a force as strong as any that the Guises could muster 
 against him, and for a time it was believed at court that lie 
 could do so. But he was always mean-spirited, always crouch- 
 ing, and cringing, and thinking of himself. Some time before 
 this, in order to contradict a report coming from Spain that 
 he favored the Amboise conspirators,* he fell upon some 
 * Letter of Francis II. to Anthony, April 15 : Colbert, MSS. vol. xxviii.
 
 MASSACRE OP ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 105 
 
 Protestant insurgents at Agen and cut them to pieces. Both 
 he and his brother had been warned of the impending 'danger. 
 The Princess of Conde wrote to her husband : " Every step 
 you take toward the court brings you nearer to destruction. 
 If your death is inevitable, it is surely more glorious to die at 
 the head of an army than to perish ignominiously on the scaf- 
 fold." Catherine also intimated to him circuitously that " it 
 was death for him to come to court." * 
 
 After he had made up his mind to go to Orleans, Anthony 
 moved so slowly and irresolutely that the journey occupied 
 him a month. On the road he dismissed the little band of 
 Huguenot gentlemen who had gathered round him with the 
 words : " I must obey, but I will obtain your pardon from the 
 king." " Go," said an old captain, " go and ask pardon for your- 
 self : our safety is in our swords." f On the 31st Octobei 1 , 
 1560, he reached Orleans. It was nearly dark when he enter- 
 ed the city, accompanied by his brother Louis, the Cardinal of 
 Bourbon, and a few servants. No one dared go out to meet 
 him, and extraordinary precautions had been taken to guard 
 against a hostile attack. Immediately on the arrival of Fran- 
 cis II. the city had (to use a modern term) been put under 
 martial law. Artillery brought from Compiegne was mount- 
 ed on the walls, the sentries were doubled, and the citizens or- 
 dered, under the severest penalties, to deliver up their arms, 
 even including such knives as were of unusual length. Nu- 
 merous arrests had been made of suspected persons, and among 
 them was the high-bailiff of the city. And now from the 
 gates to the castle where the king lodged armed men lined the 
 streets in double file an imposing but idle show. When An- 
 thony reached the royal quarters, he desired, according to his 
 privilege as a prince of the blood, to ride into the court-yard ; 
 
 * Castelnau in his Memoires says, that the queen-mother assured them 
 they might come " without fear," and would be as safe in Orleans as in their 
 own houses. Both stories may be true, and this is not the only time when 
 her public and private opinions were at variance. 
 
 t Voltaire : Essai sur les Guerres civiks.
 
 106 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 but the great gates were shut against him, and he had to dis- 
 mount and enter by a wicket. The Venetian embassador, 
 Giovanni Michieli, thus describes his appearance about this 
 time : " He is now between forty-four and forty-five years of 
 age. His beard is getting grey, his demeanor is much more 
 imposing than that of his brother, whose stature is low, and 
 figure awkward. He is tall, robust, and well-made, and his 
 courage in battle is highly extolled, though he is rather a good 
 soldier than a skillful general." Another embassador mentions 
 with astonishment the rich ear-rings and other ornaments An- 
 thony delighted to wear. 
 
 Francis received him frowningly, not condescending to 
 raise his hat, as he was wont to do to the meanest gentle- 
 man. After kneeling, Anthony said he had come thither in 
 obedience to the royal command, to vindicate his character 
 against calumnious charges ; to which the king replied that 
 it was well, at the same time forbidding him to quit Orleans 
 without permission. As Conde did not utter a word, the 
 king angrily reproached him with conspiracy and rebellion. 
 The prince replied calmly that these were slanders invented 
 by his enemies, and that he would take care to justify him- 
 self ; to which Francis made answer that, to give him an op- 
 portunity of so doing, he would be kept in prison until trial. 
 The king then ordered the captains of his guard, Chavigny 
 and Brezay, to arrest the prince. As they were leading him 
 away, he said to the Cardinal of Bourbon, who had per- 
 suaded him to trust the king : " By your exhortations you 
 have betrayed your brother to death."* He was guarded 
 very strictly; the windows of the house in which he was 
 confined were closely barred, sentinels were posted round 
 it, and no one was allowed to have access to him. " The 
 King of Navarre," says Throckmorton, "goeth at liberty, 
 but as it were a prisoner, and is every other day on hunt- 
 
 * Comment, de FEstat, p. 112. Regnier adds: "Dont il (the cardinal) fut 
 tcllement contriste qu'il n'eut recours qu' a ses larmes."
 
 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 107 
 
 ins:."* He was under strict surveillance; all his words and 
 
 o * 
 
 acts were closely watched. 
 
 The Chatillons had been duly summoned to attend at 
 Orleans. Audelot, suspecting treachery, retired to Brittany ; 
 while his brother the admiral, who was equally suspicious of 
 the Guises, determined to be present in his place. He bade 
 farewell to his wife, shortly to become a mother, as if he was 
 never to see her face again, desiring her to have the babe 
 christened by the " true ministers of the word of God." Cath- 
 erine received him cordially, and indeed put him on his guard, 
 it being her interest thus to play off one party against the 
 other. 
 
 And now once more the Guises were triumphant, and their 
 hands were strengthened by the acts of those who had plotted 
 their ruin. Now that the prey was in their grasp, they would 
 show no mercy. But first they must be revenged on the Hu- 
 guenots, " those silly folks Avho bring such scandal on the 
 honor of God," as the cardinal wrote to De Burie. "We 
 must make a striking example of them, so that, by the punish- 
 ment of a few bad men, the good may be preserved." The 
 pastors were especially singled out, that their fate might be a 
 warning for the future. Conde was to be tried before a pack- 
 ed commission, of whose verdict and sentence there could be 
 no doubt. His brother's fate was equally certain,f and as soon 
 as the two princes of the blood were dispatched, the admiral 
 with Montmorency and all the opponents of the Lorraine 
 family were to be got rid of. Such a scheme of wholesale 
 murder is hardly credible, though supported by the strong 
 testimony of the Spanish embassador, who feared the Guises 
 were going a " little too fast." J Anthony of Navarre was 
 
 * Hardwicke : State Papers, i. p. 129 ; Letter to the Queen, 17th of No- 
 vember, 15GO. 
 
 t The duke and the cardinal openly boasted that, at two blows, they 
 would cut off the heads of heresy and rebellion. Davila, liv. ii. 
 
 J " Seria mas acertado castigar poco a poco los culpados quo prcnder tan- 
 tos de un golpe." Simancas Archives : Journ. dcs Savants, 1839, p. 39.
 
 108 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 to be the first victim. One day he was summoned to an audi- 
 ence with the king, at which it had been arranged that a quarrel 
 should be got up between him and Francis II. ; that the latter 
 should draw his sword as in self-defense ; and that the crea- 
 tures of the Guises should then rush in and murder the prince. 
 It is alleged that Anthony had been informed of the plot, but 
 nevertheless would not shrink from the audience. As he 
 was leaving his quarters, he said to Captain lienty, one of his 
 faithful followers : " If I perish, strip off my shirt and carry it 
 to my wife, and bid her take it to every Christian king in 
 Europe, and call on him to avenge my death." As soon as 
 Anthony entered the presence-chamber, the door was closed 
 behind him. Francis made some insulting observations, but 
 hesitated was it through fear or pity? to give the signal 
 for his uncle's murder. " The coward !" muttered the Duke 
 of Guise, who stood watching on the other side of the door. 
 Anthony survived the perilous interview.* 
 
 The Chancellor L'Hopital and five judges were appointed 
 as a commission to try Conde in prison, and although he re- 
 fused to plead before them, it availed him nothing. This pro- 
 test and such answers as he did make having been laid before 
 the king in council, the prince was found guilty of high trea- 
 son, and condemned to lose his head. But before the sen- 
 tence could be carried out, great changes took place in France. 
 About the middle of November the king, whose health had 
 never been very robust, " felt himself somewhat evil-disposed 
 of his body, with a pain in his head and one of his ears." f 
 He rapidly grew worse; all means of relief were tried, but 
 tried in vain. He was suffering from internal abscess. While 
 he lay between life and death, the Guises made a desperate 
 effort to get rid of the only antagonist whom they really fear- 
 ed. They urged Catherine to make away with their common 
 
 * I give this incident as I find it, but hold it to be a fiction. It is incon- 
 sistent with the king's character and the state of his health at the time. 
 
 t Throckmorton to Chamberlayne, 21st November, 1560 ; Wright's Eliz- 
 abeth, i. p. 57.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. - 109 
 
 enemy before it was too late ; but Catherine, knowing that, 
 in the strife of parties, the enemy of Guise must be a friend 
 to her, refused to do any thing without consulting the chancel- 
 lor. L'Hopital found the queen " weeping among her women, 
 who surrounded her in deep silence, their eyes fixed on the 
 ground." It did not give him much trouble to show the illegal- 
 ity as well as the impolicy of the proposed act, and Conde was 
 saved. On the 5th of December Francis II. expired in great 
 agony, and as it was part of the popular faith to believe that 
 no great personage could die a natural death, Ambrose Pare, 
 the famous surgeon, was accused of poisoning the youthful 
 king by pouring " aleporous distillment" into his ear, by com- 
 mand of the queen-mother.* Coligny, as one of the chief offi- 
 cers of the crown, had the melancholy charge of watching the 
 dying king, and did not leave the bedside until Francis had 
 breathed his last. Then turning to the courtiers who were 
 present, and who had gathered round the Duke of Guise he 
 said, with the pious gravity that was natural to him : " Gen- 
 tlemen, the king is dead ; let that teach us how to live." Re- 
 turning to his quarters as soon as he could leave the king's 
 chamber, he sat in deep thought before the fire, his tooth-pick, 
 as usual, in his mouth, and his feet on the embers. Fontaine, 
 one of his suite, observing his abstraction, caught him lay the 
 arm : " Sir, you have been wool-gathering enough. You have 
 burned your boots." "Ah! Fontaine," replied the admiral, 
 " only a week ago you and I would have thought ourselves 
 well off with the loss of a leg each, and now we have only lost 
 a pair of boots. It is a good exchange." 
 
 The Huguenots were accused of exulting at the king's death ; 
 and we can almost excuse them, considering what they had suf- 
 fered during his brief reign. Calvin looked upon it as the judg- 
 ment of God. " Did you ever hear or read of any thing so 
 opportune as the death of the little king," he said. "Just 
 when there was no remedy for our extreme evils, God sudden- 
 
 * Vie de Col'vjny, p. 221.
 
 110 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 ly appeared from heaven, and he who had pierced the eye of 
 the father struck the ear of the son." * Beza also regarded it 
 in the same light. He says, the sword was already at our 
 throats when " the Lord our God rose up and carried off that 
 miserable boy by a death as foul as it was unforeseen. No 
 royal honors were paid his corpse, and the enemy of the Lu- 
 therans was buried like a Lutheran." f 
 
 The people were but little attached to Francis, and called 
 him " the king without vices," to which the Huguenots added, 
 " and without virtues." He was in fact just what the persons 
 about him made him. He was educated by Jacques Amyot, 
 the learned translator of Plutarch, in an age when translating 
 had not become a mechanical art. He had always been a sick- 
 ly child, and there is a letter extant of his father's, from which 
 we learn, not only that Henry II. loved his children, but also 
 the weakness of the dauphin's constitution.;]; Voltaire very 
 fairly describes him as a 
 
 Faible enfant qui de Guise aclorait les caprices, 
 Et dont on ignorait et les vertus ct les vices. 
 
 Henriade. 
 
 * Calvin to Sturm, 16th Dec. 1560. Bonnet: Lettresde Calvin. 
 
 t"Non minus focdo quam inexpectato mortis genere sustulit. Morttio 
 nullus, ut regi, honos habitus. . . . Lutherano more sepultns Lutherano- 
 rura hostis." Beza to Bullinger, 22d Jan. 15G1; Baum's Tkeodor Beza, 
 ii. p. 18, Svppl. 
 
 % Paris : Cabinet histonquc, ii. p. 57.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. Ill 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 One of the most violent of the satires aimed at the Cardinal of Lorraine 
 was that called "The Tiger," about which very little is known. The author- 
 ship is doubtful, the title disputed, and of two works recently brought to 
 light, it is hard to say which is the original. De Thou speaks of a " libellus 
 cui Tigridl praefixus." In a tract, " Religions et liegis adversus Calvini, 
 Bezse et Ottomanni conjuratorum factionis defensio prima" (8vo, 1562, fol. 
 17), we read : " Hie te, Ottomanne, excutere incipio. Scis enim ex cujus offi- 
 cina Tigris prodiit, liber certe tigridi parente dignissimus. Tute istius libelli 
 authorem. . . ." There is also extant a letter to Hotmann from Sturm, 
 who was rector of the High School of Strasburg in June, 1562 : " Ex hoc 
 genere Tyyris, immanis ilia bellua quam tu hie contra cardinalis existima- 
 tionem divulgare curasti.'' But if these two authorities are conclusive as 
 to Hotmann's authorship, they leave us in doubt as to what was the real 
 title of the satire, and which is the original of two contemporary libels. 
 To the researches of M. Charles Nodier we owe the discovery of a manu- 
 script poem entitled : "Le Tigrc, Satire sur les Gestes memorables des Guy- 
 sards" (4to, 1561), and beginning thus : 
 
 Jlechant diable acharne, sepulcre abominable, 
 Spectacle de malheur, vipere epouvantable, 
 Monstre, tygre enrage, jusques a quand par toi 
 Verrons-nous abuser le jeune age du roy ? 
 
 The title of the other satire is " Epistre cnvoiee au Tygre de la France," 
 and begins thus: "Tigre enrage", vipere ve'nimeuse, se'pulcre d'abomina- 
 tion, spectacle de malheur, jusques a quand sera-ce que tu abuseras de la 
 jeunesse de nostre roy ?" It charges the Cardinal with incest, but the " sis- 
 ter" was a sister-in-law, Anne of Este, wife of Duke Francis of Guise : " Qui 
 ne voit rien de saint que tu ne souilles, rien de chaste que tn ne violes, rien 
 de bon que tu ne gates. L'honneur de ta sceur ne se pent garantir d'avec 
 toy. Tu laisses ta robe, tu prens 1'epe'e pour Taller voir. Le mari ne peut 
 etre si vigilant que tu ne de9oives sa femme," etc. This was first printed at 
 Strasburg in 1562, and it was for selling one or other of these that Martin 
 Lhomme was put to death. The indictment mentions " e'pitres divers 
 et cartels diffamatoires, " but no verse which is not however conclusive 
 against the poem. The date appears adverse to the claim of the prose sat- 
 ire ; but both versions are so much alike as to suggest community of origin. 
 May there not have been a Latin original, and may not Henri Etienne, 
 author of the " Discours merveilleux," have had more to do with it than Fran- 
 cis Hotmann, professor of civil law at Strasburg? The proclamation is- 
 sued against it by the Parliament of Paris bears date 13th July, 1560. 
 [See Brunei: " Manuel du ibraire," ii. 193.]
 
 112 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FRANCE AT THE ACCESSION OF CHARLES IX. 
 
 [15GO.] 
 
 Contrast Power of King and Nobles The Provinces Roads Rate of 
 Traveling Forests Wild Animals Brigandage Inns League of the 
 Loire Agriculture Condition of the Peasantry Rent Serfage 
 Wages Cost of Provisions Food Sumptuary Laws Social Change* 
 Ignorance of the People Population of France Taxation Army and 
 Navy The Clergy Superstitions Justice Punishments Brutality of 
 Manners Domestic Architecture Paris Cities of France: Orleans, 
 Rouen, Bordeaux, Dieppe, Lyons, Boulogne, Dijon, Moulins, and St. 
 Etienne. 
 
 IK the middle of the sixteenth century, France was not the 
 centralized, orderly, well-policed country which the traveler of 
 the nineteenth century is so eager to visit, and which he leaves 
 with so much regret. It was in name a monarchy ; but un- 
 less the king were a man of resolute will, he became a mere 
 pageant in the state. The nobility inherited much of the 
 haughty turbulent spirit of their Frank ancestors, and despite 
 if not in consequence of what Louis XI. had done, they 
 still looked upon the sovereign as little more than the first 
 among peers, primus inter pares, paying him the respect due 
 to his position as their nominal superior ; but resisting him 
 when they pleased, and only kept in order by the power of 
 rival barons. When Montluc summoned the mutinous nobles 
 of the South to return to their allegiance, and obey the king, 
 they exclaimed : " What king ? We are the king. The one 
 you speak of is a baby king : we will give him the rod, and 
 show him how to earn his living like other people." It was 
 very much in this spirit that the house of Guise behaved to- 
 ward Francis II. and his two successors.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 113 
 
 France was divided into numerous provinces,* partially in- 
 dependent under their own governors and parliaments, and 
 with hardly more sympathy between them than there is now 
 between Belgium and Holland. In almost every province you 
 heard a separate dialect: the Normans and the Gascons were 
 mutually unintelligible, and the inhabitant of Brittany had as 
 little in common with the dweller in Languedoc as the Sussex 
 boor with his fellow-laborer in Picardy. The river Loire di- 
 vided the kingdom into two parts morally as well as geo- 
 graphically. Even to this day the traveler observes a differ- 
 ence between the people, their speech, their customs, and their 
 dress, immediately he crosses that boundary line. Great part 
 of the country north of the Loire had for centuries been gov- 
 erned by traditionary rules similar to our common law ; to the 
 south, the code of Justinian had never fallen into complete des- 
 uetude ; and the forms shadowy enough sometimes of the 
 Roman municipalities still existed. The former had a strong 
 resemblance to England -as it was at the close of the "Wars of 
 the Roses ; the latter reminded the Italian traveler of his native 
 land. On both sides of the river there was the same impa- 
 tience of that central authority which the modern Frenchman 
 worships. The provincial parliaments registered or rejected 
 the king's decrees at their pleasure, and the taxes were levied 
 by order of their own estates ; self-government in form more 
 than in reality. The governor of many a petty castle would 
 set at naught the king's express orders. 
 
 Nothing has greater power to amalgamate the various parts 
 of an empire, and smooth away differences, than good roads. 
 Three (some reckon four) royal roads, passing through the 
 whole length of France the great highways constructed by 
 
 * The following were the twelve leading provinces : Normandy, governed 
 by the Dauphin ; Brittany, by the Duke of Etampes ; Gascony, by the King 
 of Navarre ; Languedoc and the Isle of France, by Constable Montmoren- 
 cy ; Provence, by the Count of Tende ; Dauphiny and Champagne, by 
 Guise ; Lyonnais and the Bourbonnais, by Marshal St. Andre 1 ; Burgundy, 
 by the Duke of Nevers ; and Picardy, by Coligny. 
 
 II
 
 114 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 the Roman conquerors of Gaul were kept in tolerable con- 
 dition, as the importance of such great arteries reqiiired ; but 
 the lateral communications were, with few exceptions, in a 
 most unsatisfactory state. In winter, when the rivers over- 
 flowed their banks, or the snow lay deep, large towns within 
 a few miles of each other were completely cut off from all in- 
 tercourse. It often happened that one district was suffering 
 from famine, while its neighbor had more than it could con- 
 sume. The wines which in Anjou and the Orleannais sold for 
 one sol the measure and even less, cost twenty and twenty-four 
 sols in Normandy and Picardy. Sometimes this scarcity and 
 variation in price may have been occasioned by foolish local 
 restrictions upon the importation and exportation of provis- 
 ions ; but the more frequent cause was the want of branch 
 roads those which existed being often mere horse-tracks, and 
 as impassable in bad weather as the famous road from Balak- 
 lava to Inkermann. Catherine do Medicis, " flying on the 
 wings of desire and maternal affection," Avent from Paris to 
 Tours in three days.* Joan of Navarre, traveling with " extra- 
 ordinary speed," spent eighteen days on the road from Com- 
 piegne to Paris. It took eight days to carry the news of the 
 St. Bartholomew Massacre to Toulouse along one of the best 
 roads in France, and the same time to go from Mende to Paris. 
 Thirty years later it took Coryat five hours to travel from 
 Montreuil to Abbeville, a distance of twenty miles, his carriage 
 being a two-wheeled cart covered with an awning stretched 
 over thin hoops, not unlike that still used by our village car- 
 riers. In 1560 L'Hopital was twelve days going from Nice to 
 St. Vallier (Drome), and he too was hurrying on as quickly 
 as possible. Lippomano, the Venetian embassador, traveling 
 on urgent business, could not exceed four leagues a day. 
 These examples, taken from various parts of France, and from 
 persons of different degrees of social rank, show decisively 
 the difficulties of communication. 
 
 * Mem. de Marguerite de Valois, p. 18.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 115 
 
 This had much to do with the isolation of various parts of 
 France. In the sixteenth century nobody traveled who could 
 help it. To journey from Paris to Toulouse, now a matter of 
 a few hours by railway, was then a work of time and danger. 
 Large forests were numerous of twenty miles and more in 
 circuit : there was one near Blois of not less than ninety miles. 
 Here the brown bear, the wild boar, and the deer still roamed 
 at liberty. In the forest of Landeac, the Viscount Rohan pre- 
 served a drove of six hundred wild horses. Wolves would 
 occasionally issue from the forests, and ravage the country in 
 packs, as they still do in Poland and Russia.* In 1548 one of 
 these packs issued from the forest of Orleans, devouring men, 
 women, and children, until the peasantry rose en masse to ex- 
 terminate them.f But worse than these hungry animals were 
 the brigands who found shelter " in the merry greenwood," 
 preying upon their neighbors, and especially upon travelers. 
 One band of ruffians, five hundred in number, roamed the coun- 
 try, storming towns and castles, burning villages and farm- 
 steads, pillaging, murdering, and committing fouler atrocities. 
 Travelers rarely journeyed alone : they formed into a sort of 
 caravan, sometimes escorted by soldiers, hardly less to be fear- 
 ed than the robbers themselves. If the adventurous merchant 
 passed safely through forest and over heath, he arrived at an 
 inn to find himself carefully classed. If he journeyed on foot, 
 he could not dine and lodge like one who went on horseback. 
 The dinner of the first was fixed by tariff at six sols, and 
 the bed at eight ; the latter paid respectively twelve and twen- 
 ty. In many cases the traveler had to carry his bed and food 
 with him, or he would have to go without. 
 
 The rivers, now so full of busy life, were rarely disturbed 
 by oar or sail ; and up to the reign of Charles IX. the mer- 
 chants trading along the Loire were forced to combine into a 
 hanse or league in order to protect their property from plun- 
 
 * There were rewards for killing these beasts : 5 sols for a wolf, 10 sols 
 for a she-wolf. MS. penes auct. 
 
 t Du Tillet : Recueil des Roys, ii p. 192 ; Cfironique (4to. 1618).
 
 116 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 der and excessive toll. They entered into treaties with the riv- 
 erain Rob Roys, paying an annual black-mail which saved them 
 from still greater exactions.* It was rare to find a bridge 
 without fort and bar which none could pass, by land or water, 
 without payment of pontage. 
 
 The country was better cultivated than might have been ex- 
 pected from the rude implements employed ; but then, far 
 more than now, the fields were rarely divided by hedges. In 
 Beauce, the traveler might journey for many a long mile 
 through a fertile district, where the corn rippled in golden 
 waves beneath the summer sun ; but there was no plantation, 
 scarcely a tree upon which to rest the weary eye. Few signs 
 of life were visible from the highway : the peasants, for so 
 many centuries the victims of foreign or domestic war, had 
 wisely built their huts in the hollows and valleys, as far as pos- 
 sible removed from the routes of the brigands who composed 
 the armies of those days.f Here and there a moated grange, 
 or isolated farm-house, was visible, with its cluster of fruit- 
 trees, a greener oasis in the surrounding plain ; but it was en- 
 closed with a high wall. 
 
 The lot of the agricultural population of farmers as well 
 as of laborers was a hard one. Serfage still existed in many 
 places, and the ploughman or the hedger could no more wan- 
 der in search of employment, or higher wages, than the low- 
 roofed church in which he was christened, where he was mar- 
 ried, and beneath whose shadow his weary limbs would rest 
 at last. Rent was usually paid in kind or in service. If in 
 kind, it was a certain share of the produce, which in Brittany 
 was a twelfth.J But the great influx of gold and silver con- 
 
 * MS. penes anct. 
 
 t S'il lui restc cncor de sa pauvre cueillette, 
 
 Quelque petit amas que sa femme discrette 
 Aura par un long temps, pour 1'aider en saison, 
 Reserve chichement au coin de sa maison, 
 Le soldat lui survient, pire que n'est I'brage. ' 
 
 Le Contr 1 Empire des Sciences. Lyon, 1599. 
 
 J "Un douzieme de la prisaie du produit.'* Montdl MSS. i. 250.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 117 
 
 sequent upon the discovery of America was gradually intro- 
 ducing money rents, which, however, were so variable and un- 
 certain, that no average appears possible. In Auvergne, in 
 1514, we find it as high as seven sols an acre, and in 1568 as 
 low as four deniers and a measure (setier) of seigle. Although 
 the feudal superior was gradually passing into the modern 
 landlord, serfage was so tenacious of life that it existed more 
 than two centuries longer. Only two years before the out- 
 break of the Revolution the serfs of twenty-three communi- 
 ties belonging to the abbey of Luxeul refused to be emanci- 
 pated, choosing to remain as they were rather than pay the 
 moderate fine required for their enfranchisement. A few 
 months later the serfs of Trepot had consented to pay the sum 
 demanded by their lord, when the Revolution came and freed 
 them gratuitously.* 
 
 The agricultural population had been almost untouched 
 by that spirit of progress which had been felt in the great 
 cities and towns, and had led the way to the revival of relig- 
 ion. Their condition was hardly better than in the days of 
 Louis XII., when the farmer was at times compeUed to 
 plough his land by night, lest the tax-gatherers, who swarmed 
 like locusts, should come and seize his cattle. The peasants 
 in their remonstrance added piteously : " And when they are 
 taken, we yoke ourselves to the plough." Their houses were 
 like the cabins still to be met with in the south and west of 
 Ireland, and in the remoter parts of Scotland. In Brittany 
 the traveler may still see many such dwellings clay or mud- 
 built, covered with turf or rushes from the neighboring pool. 
 The beaten earth was the floor, a man could rarely stand up- 
 right beneath its low roof. In that single room, often win- 
 dowless, the whole family huddled together. They were with- 
 out the commonest comforts now rarely absent from the labor- 
 er's cottage. The rate of labor was not high, and most of 
 the payments were in kind. A laboring man received 
 
 * MS. penes auct.
 
 118 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 twelve deniers a day and a woman six: this was at a time 
 when a dozen eggs cost eight deniers, a bushel of turnips four 
 deniers, a fowl from two to six sols, a calf five livres, a sheep 
 twenty-four sols, a fat pig three livres, and an ox, three or 
 four years old, ten livres. The setier or twelve bushels of 
 wheat sold for twenty sols, the same quantity of rye for ten, 
 of barley for eight, and of oats for five. These are but uncer- 
 tain data on which to calculate the purchasing power of a 
 man's wages, for at that time prices varied considerably more 
 in different localities and from year to year than they do now.* 
 Black unleavened bread the " damper " of the gold diggings 
 formed the principal article of food among the poorer peo- 
 ple, and was made of rye, barley, or buckwheat.f Maize 
 appears to have been used more for cattle than for men. 
 About thirteen years before the time of which we are treat- 
 ing, the poor of La Mans supported themselves during a famine 
 upon acorn bread. The usual meat was pork or bacon a 
 diet which is supposed to have contributed to the virulence 
 of the leprosy in earlier days, and hence a languayeur had 
 been appointed, whose sole business it was to examine the pigs' 
 tongues for leprosy spots. The odious gabelle made salt so 
 dear that the farmer had often to sell one-half of a pig to 
 procure the means of pickling the other half. 
 
 The people of the sixteenth century were gross and unclean 
 
 * From a list of delicacies supplied in December, 1578, to the wife of 
 Charles de Vienne, Governor of Burgundy, when in childbed, we learn 
 that a Mayence ham cost 50 sols, Italian sausages 15 sols a lb., olives 12 
 sols, an ounce of musk 18 crowns of the sun, fine white sugar 23 sols a lb., 
 inferior sort 22 sols, dried currants 12 sols, and preserved pears 3 sols. At 
 Mende, in 15G8, a quintal of hay at 20 sols, and of straw at 8 sols, were 
 reckoned very dear ; the horse-soldier'^ pay being arranged on the supposi- 
 tion that he could get those quantities of hay and straw for 8 and 4 sols, and 
 a setier of oats for 25. (L'Abbe Bosse : Le Gevaudan pendant la derniere 
 Guerre civile. Mende, 18G4.) At Toulouse a soldier's food cost 4 sols 
 a day, probably equivalent to rather more than 20 sols or a franc now. 
 About this time the salary of a president in the Toulouse Parliament was 
 100 sols a day, and of his huissier or beadle 30 sols. 
 
 t " Sans ce grain (Ic sarrasin) qui nous est venti depuis GO ans, les pan- 
 vres gens auraient beaucoup a souffrir." Contes d'Eutrapel.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 119 
 
 eaters, delighting in viands we should now relegate to the 
 tables of the Esquimaux. Thus they would eat dog-fish, por- 
 poise,* and whale, as well as herons, cormorants, bitterns, 
 cranes, and storks. Champier saw on the table of Francis I. 
 " a pudding made of the blgod, fat, and entrails of the sea- 
 calf." Frogs f fricasseed, snails boiled, and tortoises stewed 
 in their shells were among the " dainty dishes " of this period. 
 To wash such coarse viands down the people drank so 
 much beer that the tax on it produced two-thirds more than 
 the tax upon wine. The beer was sweet, for hops (if intro- 
 duced) were scarce ; and it was " doctored " by the addition 
 of aromatics, spice, butter, honey, apples, bread-crumbs, etc. 
 A taste for unsophisticated liquors is one of the results of 
 advancing civilization. 
 
 These were the times of sumptuary laws and other reg- 
 ulations to preserve the distinction of ranks, and fill the treas- 
 ury at the expense of human vanity. Custom, quite as 
 much as law, regulated the costumes of the different classes, 
 from the silks and the scarlet robes of the nobles to the blue 
 serge of the laborer. But on fete and gala days, which 
 were more numerous than now, the variety of costumes was 
 strikingly picturesque, especially where the inhabitants of 
 different provinces met together. The tendency of modern 
 civilization to bring every thing to one monotonous uniformity 
 has robbed us of this variety. It still lingers here and there 
 in France, where the women with honest pride cling to the 
 costume peculiar to their calling, while the men have become 
 lost in the common herd.J No bourgeois could build what 
 sort of house he pleased ; nor, when built, was he free to 
 decorate it as he liked. Even the number of steps up to the 
 
 * " Celui-la memo quo nous avons en de'liccs es jours maigres." Belon : 
 Observations, etc. \~>(\'.\. 
 
 t Champier wonders how people could cat such an insect. 
 
 % Without going to the Pyrenees, or even to Burgundy, the English trav- 
 eler may still see relics of the old time in the high cap of the Xormande bonne 
 and in the dress of the fishing-classes in the Pas de Calais, 'where the 
 girl who ventures to wear a bonnet is looked upon as lost.
 
 120 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 door was regulated by law. The house might be painted 
 with certain colors, but gilding was strictly prohibited.* 
 In 1867 there is scarcely a mechanic so poor that his wife 
 can not boast of a silk gown, but, three hundred years ago, no 
 woman, below the rank of duchess, except " dames et demoi- 
 selles de maison " living " a, la campagne et hors des villes," 
 could wear any silk except as trimming, and then only under 
 certain restrictions, so that the "fashion" should not cost 
 more than sixty sols for each dress.f Nay, worse than that, 
 a fine of two hundred livres parisis awaited any woman who 
 should venture to wear a vertugale or hooped petticoat more 
 than an ell and a half round a restriction which a modern 
 house-maid would think very tyrannical. Although silk was 
 not so scarce as these regulations would seem to imply, cer- 
 tain manufactures of it were so rare that historians record 
 that Henry II. wore silk stockings at his coronation. Thirty 
 years later such an article of dress was still regarded as an 
 extravagant and wicked luxury.J The Ordonnance of Orleans 
 (1560) forbade the use of perfumery among certain classes, 
 who seem to have had no other resource but to shut up a 
 particular kind of apple in their wardrobes in order to im- 
 pregnate their dresses with its odor. Sumptuary laws regu- 
 lated the meals. By the edict of January, 1563, Charles IX. 
 forbade more than three courses, no course to consist of more 
 than six dishes, each containing one kind of viand. The 
 entertainer who infringed this impracticable law was fined 
 200 livres for the first offense, and 400 for the second ; the 
 
 * The Ordonnance of Orleans (1560) forbids the "manans et habitans 
 de nos villages toutes sortes de dorures sur plomb, fer, ou bois." 
 
 t St. Allais : Andenne France, i. 558, gives extracts from the edicts of 
 1561. 
 
 } Qui vit jamais porter bas des chausscs de soye 
 
 De 8 ou 10 escus, au lieu d'avoir du pain 
 Pour les pauvres .... 
 
 .... On oust veu femme 
 Porter dessus son ventre un viiroir en 1'e'glise. 
 
 Artus Desire': Le Desordre de France. Paris, 1577.
 
 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 121 
 
 guests who did not turn informers against their hosts were 
 fined forty livres ; while the unfortunate cook, who merely 
 obeyed his master's orders, was fined ten livres and imprison- 
 ed for a fortnight with only bread and water for his fare. 
 For a second offense the penalty was doubled ; and if he 
 transgressed a third time, he was scourged and banished from 
 the town. Experience has shown legislators the impossibility 
 of restraining luxury by sumptuary laws ; yet the states- 
 men of the fifteenth century may be excused for attempting 
 thus clumsily to check the extravagant fashions of the day. 
 Brantome describes, with all the minuteness of a modern 
 reporter at a city dinner, the particulars of a banquet given 
 by the Vidame of Chartres. The ceiling of the dining-hall, 
 which was painted to represent the sky, suddenly opened, 
 and clouds laden with dishes descended upon the tables. 
 The same contrivance was used to remove the dishes. 
 During the dessert an artificial storm poured down for half 
 an hour a rain of perfumed water and a hail of sugar-plums. 
 One great social change took place about this period. " The 
 women," writes L'Hopital to De Thou, " are now seen boldly 
 sitting down at table with the men." Before that time, it 
 was the custom for the husband only to sit with his guests, 
 while the mistress of the house attended to the manner in 
 which the table was served. Christopher de Thou, father of 
 the historian, was the first person, not of royal or noble 
 blood, who rode in a carriage in Paris. Until then there were 
 only two in use at the court the queen's and that belonging 
 to Diana, natural daughter of Henry II. Carriages were rare- 
 ly employed for traveling purposes : the roads were, for the 
 most part, too bad for vehicles much less rude than the coun- 
 try wains that bore the produce of the farm to market. Those 
 who could not afford the pomp of litters rode on horseback : 
 the ladies sometimes on a pillion behind a servant,* but fre- 
 quently astride, like the men. Catherine de Medicis intro- 
 
 * De Thou describes his mother "in eqtio post tergum sessoris domestic! 
 tapeti et stapedoe insidens."
 
 122 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 duced the side-saddle. In 1571 a royal permission was grant- 
 ed for " coches a la mode d'ltalie " to go from Paris to Orleans 
 a privilege soon extended to other cities of France " pour le 
 soulagement de personnes."* In 1562 forty-six post-horses 
 were registered in Paris, the hire seems to have been twenty 
 sols each a day. 
 
 The dispatches of Killigrew, embassador to the court of 
 France about this time, present a striking picture of the mis- 
 ery and ignorance of the lower classes. On the 15th Novem- 
 ber, 1559, he writes: "It is very secretly reported that the 
 French king is become a leper, and for fear of his coming to 
 Chatelherault the people have (it is said) removed their chil- 
 dren ; and of late there be certain of them wanting about 
 Tours, which can not be heard of, and there is commandment 
 given that there shall not be any pursuit made for the same." 
 A horrible light is thrown on these last words by a letter of 
 the 28th January, 1560: "The 20th of this present month 
 there was a man executed here at Blois, who lately, with a 
 companion, traveled abroad in the country to seek fair chil- 
 dren, to use their blood for curing of a disease which, they 
 said, the king had : alleging that they had a command so to 
 do. The one of them used to go before to make search for 
 them, and the other came after to ask if such a man had been 
 there for such a purpose : whereupon the people made lamen- 
 tation for their children." It was of course only an impudent 
 means of extorting money. 
 
 The population of France at the accession of Charles IX. 
 has been variously estimated, but it probably did not much 
 (if at all) exceed fifteen millions, of whom almost one-third 
 lived in towns. Yet complaints of over-population were fre- 
 quent; and La Noue, speaking of the multitude of inhab- 
 itants before the religious wars, says : " They swarm !" They 
 paid in taxation a greater proportional amount than is con- 
 tributed by their more numerous and fortunate posterity un- 
 
 * Corrozet : Anliquites de Paris, p. 210 (ed. 1577).
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 123 
 
 der the second empire. Finance was in its infancy, and 
 taxes were levied so as to produce the greatest amount of 
 vexation to the payer and the smallest result to the royal 
 treasury. At the end of the century forty years later 
 than the period at which we have arrived the duties and 
 aids were farmed for 232 millions of livres, equivalent to 
 42,000,000 sterling.* 
 
 Taxes Avere imposed upon no regular plan, and whatever 
 arrangement was made, it was liable to be broken through by 
 the " good pleasure " of the king. This was especially the case 
 in the reign of Francis I., whose subjects, when groaning un- 
 der oppressive charges of tallies, taillons, aides, subsides, im- 
 pots, and gabelle, looked back and longed for the good old 
 times of Louis XII. Francis squandered his income in the 
 most reckless manner ; every body plundered the national ex- 
 chequer, especially his favorites and mistresses. So great were 
 the expenses of the marriage (the ndces sal'ees) of his niece 
 Joan of Albret with the Duke of Cloves in 1541, that to make 
 up the deficiency he not only extended the gabelle or salt tax 
 to several of the southern provinces, but doubled it in those 
 where it already existed, expecting that the returns would be 
 doubled also. In this he was disappointed, and new sources of 
 revenue had to be invented. The coinage was debased, raising 
 the value of the silver mark from 165 to 185 ;f a multitude 
 of offices was created, all to be had for money ; judgeships 
 were made venal, lotteries were established, additional decimes 
 imposed on the clergy ; J the churches were robbed of their or- 
 naments of gold, silver, and precious gems ; loans were raised 
 
 * Calculating the actual value of the livre tournois at francs 4-50, ac- 
 cording to the quantity of corn it represented, on the average of frs. 31-71 
 the seder. 
 
 t In 1540 the marc d'or (= 8 onces, or 244-75 grammes) was worth 1G5 
 7s. Gd. of our money ; in 15GI it had risen to 185, and in 1;V73 to 200. 
 
 J The sol par lime, seems to have been the 'constitutional tax, which Fran- 
 cis raised to two sols. The Traicte des Aydes, by L. du Crot, may be con- 
 sulted with advantage. 
 
 Francis I. took away the silver rails that had been set by Louis XI. 
 round the tomb of St. Martin of Tours.
 
 124 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 by means of rentes or stock offered for sale at the Hotel-dc- 
 Ville of Paris, and the citizens were expected to become pur- 
 chasers. Eightscore thousand crowns were thus borrowed 
 au denier douze; that is to say, at 8 per cent. The super- 
 intendents of finance were bound to procure money, even if 
 they had to borrow it on their own security ; and, when all oth- 
 er means failed, and a large sum was wanted instantly for some 
 royal caprice or some new mistress, a financier was hanged 
 and his property confiscated. Such measures necessarily dis- 
 contented every body and profited none but a few persons at 
 court ; yet by some means or other Francis I. contrived to 
 leave four millions of livres in the treasury, which Henry II., 
 aided by Diana of Poitiers, soon squandered. The new king 
 took one important step toward financial accountability by di- 
 viding the kingdom into seventeen generalites, each of which 
 was farmed at a very high rate.* Under his two successors, 
 the government speculated in French vanity by making titles 
 of nobility purchasable. Pasquier thought this an "inex- 
 haustible source of supply," but it does not appear to have 
 made any large return to the treasury. The "deficit" became 
 periodical, and to fill up the gulf the taxes (especially the ga- 
 belle) were augmented,! financiers were prosecuted and heav- 
 ily mulcted, many useless offices were created on purpose to be 
 sold, and new loans were contracted. Among other devices 
 all of them very startling to a modern chancellor of the ex- 
 chequer was a proposal to appoint 13,000 sergens, or baillies. 
 Pasquier hopes this will not be done, for " it would eclipse 
 the memory of the 11,000 devils spoken of in the time of our 
 grandfathers." 
 
 The taxation fell very heavily on the Tiers etat, and partic- 
 ularly upon the agricultural classes. The towns-people, the 
 
 * Du Grot : Traicte des Aydes, ad fin. 
 
 + The salt tax, oppressive enough by itself, was made more so by the way 
 in which it was levied. It sometimes reached 25 sols the pound, and 
 purchasers were forced to buy a certain quantity, and renew their store ev- 
 ery three months, whether it was consumed or not. Bernard Palissy gives a 
 curious account of the working of this tax.
 
 MASSAGES OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 125 
 
 bourgeoisie, were to some degree protected by charters and 
 privileges, and had an organization of their own by which the 
 taxes were levied. They were exempt from foreign garrisons, 
 elected their own officers (with the exception of the provost 
 of the merchants), enrolled a citizen guard, and had the right 
 to barricade the streets and shut their gates, even against the 
 king.* No charters or securities guaranteed the peasant from 
 injustice. Michieli, writing in 1561, describes the oppression 
 in some provinces (especially in Normandy and Picardy) as 
 so excessive, that the peasantry were forced to abandon the 
 country.f The burdens were the more severe and invidious, 
 that while the seigneurs mercilessly exacted their rents, dues, 
 corvees, customs, etc. , they contributed nothing to the state 
 beyond what they gave of their free-will as a gift. Clergy, 
 nobility, soldiers, members of the king's household, and of the 
 high courts of parliament, school-masters, officers of finance, 
 free cities (villes de franchise) like Paris, and noble cities 
 (villes nobles) like Troyes, were all exempt ; not that they did 
 not contribute to the revenue, but only so much as they chose 
 to assess themselves. In the reign of Francis I. the French 
 clergy, with the consent of the pope, agreed to pay a decime, 
 or one-tenth of their revenue, which in the next reign was 
 doubled. At Poissy, in 1561, they entered into an arrange- 
 ment to pay sixteen hundred thousand livres annually, on con- 
 dition of their future exemption from all other taxes. Consid- 
 ering that they possessed about one-third of the landed and 
 house-property in France, this was but a small contribution 
 to the necessities of the crown. The yearly rental of the 
 whole kingdom has been estimated, on what are indeed very 
 vague data, to have amounted to fifteen millions of crowns, 
 of which six belonged to the clergy J and one and a half to the 
 
 * A relic of this custom still exists in the practice of closing Temple Bar 
 on the accession of a new sovereign. 
 
 t " Sono stnti forzati ad abbandonnar il paesi." Relazione, iii. (Ser. I.) 
 p. 423. Du Crot confirms this : Traicte cks Aydes, p. 114. 
 
 t La Noue sets it down at twenty million francs.
 
 126 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 king. The exports of corn, wine, salt, and wood were valued 
 at twelve millions of francs, more than Spain received from 
 her mines of Mexico and Peru. 
 
 The army and the navy are the great causes of expenditure 
 in our days ; but in the sixteenth century both were so insig- 
 nificant that their burden was hardly appreciable. France 
 has now about three-quarters of a million of men under arms, 
 but in 1560 the army barely amounted to 20,000 men, and 
 these were so scattered, and under so many local restrictions, 
 that the crown could not collect 10,000 men without the aid 
 of mercenaries. Although the main strength consisted in cav- 
 alry, the importance of infantry was beginning to be felt. 
 They were long looked upon as a very inferior arm ; indeed, 
 the feeling is not yet extinct in some countries ; but every im- 
 provement in fire-arms so increased the power of the foot-sol- 
 dier, that far-sighted men began to see that the victory must 
 ultimately remain with the general who could make the best 
 use of his infantry. The artillery was rude and awkward ; 
 the guns were clumsily mounted, and the balls rarely fitted 
 the barrel. With all these defects it must not excite surprise 
 that on an average they could not be discharged more than 
 once in five minutes. When fixed in battery, they might be 
 trusted to breach the wall of a city or castle, where the object 
 of the engineer seems to have been to expose as much as pos- 
 sible of his defenses to the fire of the enemy. The cannons 
 were almost utterly useless in the field against a body of men 
 in motion ; but the noise they made proved at times as ef- 
 fectual in dispiriting the enemy as their accuracy of fire. 
 The army was officered by the nobility : a commoner might 
 rise to be a sergeant, but it was impossible for him to ob- 
 tain a commission. It was partly on this ground of unpaid 
 military service that the nobles claimed exemption from tax- 
 ation. 
 
 The French navy existed but in name. When Francis I. 
 was at war -frith England he brought twenty-five galleys from 
 the Mediterranean into the Channel, the Genoese lent him ten
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 127 
 
 vessels, a"nd with others in his harbors he mustered a fleet of 
 one hundred and fifty ships of large tonnage, and sixty small 
 ones. One great ship of a hundred guns, called the Caracon, 
 had been built, but it never put to sea, being burned in har- 
 bor. We are all familiar with the uncouth yet strangely pict- 
 uresque forms of those ships, standing high out of the wa- 
 ter, with their castles at each end, and looking as if a breath 
 of wind would blow them over. They were slow and bad sail- 
 ers, deficient in accommodation for their two crews the sol- 
 diers to fight and the seamen to sail them. The navy was not 
 quite so exclusive and aristocratic as the army ; but if seamen 
 worked the ship, landsmen as captains and admirals command- 
 ed it, as they did, until comparatively a late period, in our 
 own service. 
 
 The clergy were the most wealthy body in the state. La 
 Noue reckons one hundred episcopal and archiepiscopal sees 
 in France, 650 abbeys belonging to the orders of St. Bernard 
 and St. Benedict, all " beautified with good kitchens " and 
 2500 priories. Jean Bouchet has left a curious picture of the 
 clergy at the early part of the century, and there are no 
 grounds for believing that they had at all improved in the in- 
 terval before his death in 1555. He complains that the candi- 
 dates for holy orders possess all the qualities not wanted, and 
 none that are. Of the cardinals and bishops he says, they 
 ought to preach the Gospel, and be 
 
 Du peuple la lumiere, 
 Le bon cxemple et la clarte premiere. 
 
 Montluc, Bishop of Valence, declared in a sermon preach- 
 ed in 1559, that out of ten priests there were eight who 
 could not read. .We may charitably suppose that he exag- 
 gerates. 
 
 The clergy by no means dwelt together in unity, and their 
 quarrels became such a nuisance that, in 1542, the bishops 
 were commanded to put a stop to the practice of delivering 
 abusive sermons from the pulpit. The order would seem to
 
 128 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 have been ineffectual, for, in 1556, the priests were forbidden 
 to preach unless they had first submitted their sermons to the 
 diocesan. This regulation may have been partly intended as a 
 watch over heretical opinions ; but in the same year the proc- 
 urator-general issued an order of Parliament against all such 
 
 ~ O 
 
 as had indulged in " abusive language " in the pulpit. The 
 fact is, that the sixteenth century was one of singular excite- 
 ment in every respect. Society was in travail. The clergy 
 shared in the general restlessness, and the press not being 
 quick enough, they resorted to their pulpits to refute an an- 
 tagonist, and preached sermons instead of writing leading ar- 
 ticles. They spared nobody Avho attacked them, or did not 
 support them. A friar of the order of Minims, Jean de Haas 
 by name, preached in his Advent sermons (Dec., 1561) so vio- 
 lently against the edict of that year, and the king and queen- 
 mother for sanctioning it, that the provost was ordered to ar- 
 rest him " early in the morning," and take him bound and 
 gagged to St. Germains ; but the citizens, immediately they 
 heard of his capture, marched out in crowds to the royal 
 residence, and, irritated with this " indignity," as Pasquier 
 terms it, demanded the preacher back. The king was forced 
 to give him up, and Jean returned in triumph to Paris, " as if 
 he were a great prince." The next day he celebrated his de- 
 liverance by a solemn procession to the Church of St. Barthol- 
 omew.* At the beginning of 1572 Sorbin, the king's preach- 
 er, declaimed violently against the king because he would not 
 give immediate orders for murdering the Huguenots, and pub- 
 licly exhorted the Duke of Anjou to undertake the task him- 
 self, holding out hopes to him of the primogeniture, as Jacob 
 prevailed over Esau. But the heretics could be as violent as 
 the orthodox. The Huguenot ministers poured the rankest 
 abuse on what John Knox called " the monstrous regiment of 
 women;"' and some of them unless they are greatly belied 
 even went so- far as to preach regicide. The minister Su- 
 
 * Mem de Conde, torn. vi. p. G03 (Collect. Michnud).
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 129 
 
 reau was arrested for saying that it was lawful to kill the 
 king and his mother, if they did not accept the Gospel accord- 
 ing to Calvin.* 
 
 The state of public opinion with regard to the clergy can be 
 more easily detected in the amusements of the people than in 
 the writings of scholars, or the acts of government. Before the 
 Reformation there was a strong anti-papal feeling throughout 
 Europe, which showed itself in the light literature of the day 
 the tales, the poetry, and the dramas with which all classes 
 amused their leisure hours. For instance, in the tales ascribed 
 to Margaret of Navarre, and in the grotesque romance of Gar- 
 gantua, monks and the secular clergy are the chief victims. In 
 the rude theatrical representations of this time, the abiiscs of 
 the Church are dealt with most unsparingly. One of these was 
 exhibited before the King of Navarre and his wife, the pious 
 Joan of Albret, in the year 1558. In the first scene a poor 
 woman is represented as at the point of death, and crying 
 loudly for relief from her sufferings. The sympathizing gos- 
 sips round her bed send off hastily for the parson, who goes 
 through the usual religious ceremonial, but fails to alleviate 
 her anguish. Then several monks appear some bearing 
 relics, others indulgences none of which bring relief. She is 
 next invested with the frock and scapulary of St. Francis, but 
 this too fails to restore her to health. At length, after much 
 good advice has been wasted, one of the bystanders says there 
 is a stranger in the town who has a certain specific for the poor 
 woman's pains. He will guarantee a perfect cure; but the 
 man is a homeless wanderer, who hides himself from the eyes 
 of the world, flees the light of day, lives in obscure corners, and 
 comes out at night only. The sufferer begs that he may be 
 sent for, and after much trouble he is found. He appears in 
 dress and gait like other men. Approaching the sick bed, he 
 whispers something in the patient's ear, places a little book in 
 
 **'Fas esse interficere. . . . nisi obedire cvnngelio Calviniano." De 
 justa Reijmll. Christi in Regis Auctorit, 386 recto. See Labitte : Democ. de 
 la Ligue, p. li. 
 
 I
 
 130 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW; 
 
 her hand, which he assures her is full of remedies for her dis- 
 order, and vanishes. And so the scene ends. 
 
 In the next, we find the woman restored to perfect health : her 
 eyes sparkle with animation, and she can walk with ease. She 
 announces her recovery, eulogizes the unknown physician, 
 extols his remedy, and recommends it to the audience. She 
 adds that she would willingly lend it, " but it is hot to the 
 touch, and smells of fire and faggot." However, if they desire 
 to know the name of the remedy and of the disease of which 
 she had been cured, they must find it out for themselves. She 
 retired amid loud applause, and the spectators of that day 
 found no more difficulty in solving the enigma than we do.* 
 
 The ritual and services of the Church were not free from 
 superstitious usages. The more the substance of religion 
 died out in their hearts, the more the clergy adhered to the 
 forms. Thus not to fast on Friday was a heinous sin ; and at 
 Angers, in 1539, those who were found to have eaten meat on 
 that day were burned alive if they remained impenitent, and 
 hanged if they repented. The poet Clement Marot narrowly 
 escaped burning for having eaten pork in Lent. "If any one 
 eats meat," says Erasmus, they all cry out : " Heavens ! the 
 Church is in danger ; the world is overrun with heretics." 
 They punish every one who " eats pork instead of fish." In 
 1534 the Bishop of Paris gave the Countess of Brie permis- 
 sion to eat meat on " meagre " days, but only on condition that 
 she ate in private and fasted regularly every Friday. Bran- 
 tome relates that, during a procession in a certain country town, 
 one woman attracted peculiar attention by her fervor, even to 
 walking barefoot. She then went home to prepare her hus- 
 band's dinner. The smell of roast meat attracting the notice 
 
 * 
 of some priests, they entered the house and caught her in the 
 
 act of cooking, for which she was sentenced forthwith to go in 
 penance through the streets carrying the half-roasted meat 
 round her neck. The morals of the clergy were very relaxed, 
 
 * Arcfere : Hist. Rochelle (4to. 1756), i. p. 333.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 131 
 
 and they would hardly have thanked Lippomano if they had 
 read his doubtful compliment.* But this is a subject upon 
 which it would be as superfluous as it would be disagreeable 
 to enlarge. 
 
 The sixteenth century was an age of superstitions, the in- 
 evitable parasites of a debased religion, and often stronger 
 than religion itself. Both Catherine and Charles IX. had their 
 astronomers and alchemists ; and an agreement is extant be- 
 tween the king and one Jean cles Gallans, in which the latter 
 promises to transmute " all imperfect metals into fine gold and 
 silver." f The early death of Charles is ascribed by Bodin to* 
 his having spared the life of the famous sorcerer Trois 
 Echelles.J Catherine was so credulous as to believe that La 
 Mole and Coconnas had compassed the king's death by melting 
 a waxen image of him before the fire, and they were particu- 
 larly " questioned," or tortured, as to Avhether they had not 
 envoute Charles IX. A singular chain, or amulet, once worn 
 by the queen-mother, has been often engraved. Nostradamus 
 was the great oracle of the age, and thousands visited the little 
 town of Salon in Provence to purchase of him the secrets of the 
 future. He is reported to have shown Catherine the throne of 
 France occupied by Henry IV. This was shortly before the 
 accident that befell Henry II., whose death the astrologer was 
 supposed to have prophesied, in a barbarous quatrain. || Al- 
 
 * " II prcte francese [non] molto libidinoso c inclinato solo al vizio della 
 crapula (gluttony)." The sense requires the addition of the negative non. 
 
 t Revue retrospective, i. 1833. 
 
 I Demonomanie, p. 152. This man, according to Mezeray, gave Charles 
 the names of 1200 of his associates. In Bodin and L'Estoile the numbers 
 are set down at 30,000 and 3000 ; Boguet says ' trois cents mil." 
 
 The following title of a libelous pamphlet throws a curious light upon 
 the subject in the text : Les Sorcelleries de Henri de Valois, et les Oblations 
 qu'il faisoit au Diable dans le J3ois de. Vincennes, dvec la Figure des Demons 
 d? Argent dore auxquels ilfaisoit Offrande, et lesquels se voyent encore en ceste 
 Ville. Paris, 1589. 
 
 || Le lion jcune le vicux stirmontera ; 
 
 En champ bellique par singulier duel, 
 Dans cage d'or les yenx lui crevera, 
 Deux plaics une, puis mourir, mort cruelle.
 
 132 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 manacs and prognostications of the future were forbidden to 
 be published as " against the express command of God," unless 
 they had received the imprimatur of the bishop or archbishop, 
 who thus enjoyed a monopoly of fortune-telling.* Strange 
 visions appeared ; the Wandering Jew was seen in many places, 
 a tall man with long white hair floating over his shoulders 
 and walking barefoot. Signs were visible in the heavens : 
 fiery swords flashed across the midnight sky, and rivers flowed 
 back toward their sources. Diabolical possession was com- 
 mon, men and women were turned into wolves, and prowled 
 about the cemeteries. The witches held their sabbaths undis- 
 turbed by the thunders of a Church which took no steps to re- 
 move the general ignorance. It has always been the policy 
 of Rome to keep men ignorant, that she may keep them slaves. 
 The sorcerers whom the Senate of Toulouse held to trial in 
 1577 were alone more numerous than all other classes of crim- 
 inals for two years before. More than 400 were condemned 
 to perish by fire, and, most surprising ! nearly all of them bore 
 the mark of the devil on their person.J Gregory does not 
 tell us whether they were all executed ; but it is easy to con- 
 clude that people, accustomed to such sentences and such judi- 
 cial massacres, could not have felt much sympathy toward a 
 few wretched heretics burned or hanged for reviling the Bon 
 Dieu. 
 
 A blundering sort of justice was meted out to criminals in 
 those days, it being quite as probable that an innocent man 
 would suffer as that the guilty would be convicted. But some 
 one was punished, an example was made, and the law was sat- 
 isfied. Occasionally special commissions were issued to try 
 such powerful criminals as defied the ordinary courts of jus- 
 tice. The "grands jours," or special assize of Poitou, was 
 held under a guard of four hundred men, and lasted all the 
 
 * Isambert : Annennes Lois Frany, xiv. p. 71 ; Ordonnance of Orleans, 
 January, 15GO. 
 
 t Gregorius : Tertla Syntag. Juris Univ. Pars, lib. 74, c. 21. The evi- 
 dence would hardly satisfy an English jury.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 133 
 
 months of September and October. Twelve persons were be- 
 headed for their crimes, one heretic was burned, and the houses 
 of some gentlemen who had refused to appear were burned 
 down. 
 
 Many of the punishments were grossly trivial and indecent, 
 others were barbarously severe. All England rings with ex- 
 ecrations if the agony of a convicted murderer is unnecessa- 
 rily prolonged by the bungling of the hangman; but in the 
 sixteenth century offenses were sometimes punished with a 
 refined ferocity worthy of the kingdom of Dahomey. No 
 code was mild three hundred years ago, but practices survived 
 in France which the more merciful instincts of our law had 
 banished from England. Traitors were scourged, their ears 
 were cut off, and their tongues pierced with a red-hot iron, 
 after which they were hanged or torn in pieces by horses. 
 Highway robbers were condemned by a special edict (1534), 
 to have their arms broken in two places, as well as their ribs, 
 le.gs, and thighs ; * they were then to be extended face upper- 
 most on a wheel elevated on a tall pole, and " there they should 
 remain to repent so long as our Lord should please to let them 
 linger." " If the criminals are favored," says an English trav- 
 eler, "their breast is first broken. That blow is called the 
 blow of mercy, because it doth quickly bereave them of their 
 life." f Kindness to the weak, tenderness and commiseration 
 even for the criminal are the slow growth of civilizing influ- 
 ences.J The pen almost refuses to describe how some wom- 
 en Huguenot women were on one occasion buried alive. 
 They were placed, each in a box or coffin without a top but 
 with bars across, after which they were lowered into a deep 
 trench and the earth was thrown upon them. The execution- 
 er was a master (maitre) in those days, and represented rather 
 the sheriff than the Calcraft of 1867. He was a salaried offi- 
 
 * Gregorius : Tertia Syntag. Juris Univ. Pars, lib. 74, c. 21. 
 t Coryat, Crudities, p. 8. 
 
 J Joannes Millseus: Praxis Criminis persequendi (fol. Paris, 1541), con- 
 tains well-executed plates representing various kinds of torture.
 
 134 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 cer of justice, not very far below the judge in rank. The office 
 was frequently hereditary, and its emoluments great. At 
 Carcassonne in 1538, his gloves for one execution cost at one 
 time twelve deniers, and twenty at another. He was paid five 
 sols for the tumbrel or hurdle on which the criminal was 
 dragged to the place of execution ; ten for hanging him, twen- 
 ty for beheading him, and five for the pole on which the head 
 was exhibited. For flogging a culprit round the town he re- 
 ceived seven sols six deniers. For burning a heretic at Tou- 
 louse, the wood, straw, chain, turpentine, brimstone, etc., cost 
 five livres six sols, with an additional couple of livres if the 
 victim was burned alive. 
 
 The savage punishments of the age tended to brutalize the 
 manners of the people, one evil thus fostering and reacting 
 upon another. In the small town of Provins, now so famous 
 for its roses, there lived one Crispin, who was accused of rob- 
 bery and murder, tried, convicted, and sentenced to be hanged. 
 As he passed for a Huguenot, the priests, up to the last mo- 
 ment, urged him to recant ; but he remained firm " si ne 
 spavoit pas bien lire ni ecrire." In due course he was exe- 
 cuted, and the dead body left hanging on the gallows. A crowd 
 of a hundred boys or more, and none over twelve years old, 
 gathered round the spot ; some of the more daring mounted 
 the ladder, cut the rope and let the corpse fall. A cord was 
 now fastened round the neck, another round the ankles, and 
 the boys began to pull in different directions for the mastery. 
 As the sides were pretty evenly matched, a truce was agreed 
 upon, during which they got up a mock trial on the question, 
 in what manner a Huguenot ought to be dragged to the voirie 
 or dunghill. The juvenile court decided that "the said here- 
 tic should be dragged by the heels like a dead beast," and 
 were actually pulling the body to the Changy gate, when 
 another gang of boys met them and insisted that the body 
 should be burned. A fire was kindled into which the corpse 
 was thrown, while a crowd of spectators looked on encouraging 
 the boys by words and gestures. After the body had lain
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 135 
 
 some time in the flames, it was again dragged out and thrown 
 into the river, where a bargeman cut off an ear and wore it 
 as a trophy in his hat.* Comment upon such an incident 
 would be superfluous. It is a picture painted by a contempo- 
 rary of a state of society that had not existed in Europe since 
 the fall of Rome. The men of Proving- who looked on approv- 
 ingly while the boys were making a plaything of Crispin's 
 lifeless body, were the fathers of those who committed the 
 atrocities of the Reign of Terror. 
 
 Under the Valois dynasty, the towns and cities of France 
 were very much as they had been through the long period of 
 the Middle Ages. During the last fifty years, the spirit of 
 change and improvement has spread so rapidly, that, except in 
 the renfoter parts of the country, the traces of the old towns 
 have almost disappeared. The towns were surrounded with 
 high walls, such as may still be seen confining the Haute Ville 
 of Boulogne-sur-Mer, or parts of York, Chester, and Norwich. 
 The streets were narrow and winding, the houses tall, the suc- 
 cessive stories sometimes projecting over each other, so as al- 
 most to exclude the sun. With the exception of the mansions 
 of the nobles, and sometimes of the wealthier traders, the 
 houses were built of wood often straw-thatched, and with 
 windows formed alike to exclude air and light. This was one 
 cause of the frequent pestilences which ravaged Europe, and 
 of the low average of human life. The mansions of the nobles and 
 gentry still retained a semi-fortified aspect. They were enter- 
 ed by huge gate- ways, and few windows looked into the street. 
 The shops of the traders resembled greatly the modern green- 
 grocers' or butchers', in being without glazed windows, and 
 open to the street as soon as the shutter was let down. Some- 
 times they were connected by a sort of arcade, still traceable 
 in the Piliers des Holies, where the name remains while the 
 thing has disappeared. These middle-class dwellings were 
 often covered externally with slates, or the intervals between 
 
 * Claude Haton, ii. 704.
 
 136 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 the timbers were filled up with bricks arranged in fantastic 
 patterns. The external wood-work was often as exquisitely 
 carved as the internal. A spacious staircase with massive 
 balustrades occupied a disproportionate share of the house. 
 The roof was so arranged as to show a gable to the street, and 
 it often projected so far as to permit a small gallery to be built 
 out of the top story, where the inmates might enjoy the fresh 
 air under shelter. 
 
 There were no facilities for pedestrians : the roadways were 
 unpaved (except in a few rare instances), and no smooth trot- 
 toir invited the curious or the idle to stroll and gaze at the shops. 
 In wet weather the streets were impassable from mud, in hot 
 and dry weather they were almost as troublesome from the 
 dust and stench ; for the road was the general receptacle of 
 the rubbish of the houses, and the scavenger's trade was in 
 embryo. Drainage was unknown, and even in Paris there 
 was only one sewer, namely that constructed by Aubriot in 
 the reign of Charles V. 
 
 Churches and convents were numerous in every city and 
 town, not unf requently occupying one-half of their area. At 
 Rouen there were forty convents and thirty-six parish church- 
 es, without reckoning the collegiate churches and the cathedral. 
 Each city and town had its governor, who lived in the citadel 
 or castle, which was generally so detached as to be secure when 
 the town had fallen into the hands of the enemy. The well- 
 known town of Boulogne-sur-Mer presents us with an easily 
 accessible example of this arrangement. 
 
 In the middle of the sixteenth century the population of Par- 
 is was between four and five hundred thousand.* The walls 
 were seven leagues in circuit, according to Corrozet ; while 
 Giustiniani (1535) says that a man could make the circuit in 
 three hours' easy walking, which is nearer Coryat's calculation 
 (1608) of ten miles.f It was surrounded by stone walls flanked 
 by towers, and pierced by eleven gates, five on the south side 
 
 * Giovanni Soranzo (1558) says 400,000 or more. 
 
 t Corrozet (dd. 15G8) says: "... Cette villc est de unzc portcs. . . .
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 137 
 
 and six on the north. The bulwark enclosing the northern part 
 of the city started from the arsenal on the river, ran along the 
 boulevards of the Bastille, St. Antoine, Temple, St. Martin, and 
 St. Denis to the Place des Victoires, the Palais Royal, and the 
 Louvre. On the south, it ran from the Pont de la Tournelle, 
 behind the gardens of the college of. Henry. IV., across the 
 streets of St. Jacques and Mazarin to the river at the Po*nt des 
 Arts.* Houses even now were found in clusters beyond the 
 Porte St. Honore, on each side of the road as far as the pres- 
 ent Barriers of Roule and of Chaillot. The Faubourg Mont- 
 niartre was without the walls, along the line of the Chaussee 
 d'Antin, and beyond the Temple the Faubourg St. Antoine was 
 fast growing in size. Giovanni Capello writing in 1554 de- 
 . scribes Paris as the largest city he had ever seen, and Coryat 
 declares it to be well called " Lutetia (from lutum, mud), for 
 many of the streets are the dirtiest and the stinkingest of all 
 he ever saw." It contained from three to four hundred houses 
 of the yearly value of 6000 livres, two hundred of 10,000, one 
 hundred of 30,000, and twenty at least of 50,000.f Every 
 Wednesday and Saturday 2000 horses entered the city laden 
 solely with poultry and game, all of which was sold in two 
 hours. 
 
 The streets were dark, narrow, and winding, with a gutter 
 running dowu the middle. In that part called the Cite the 
 houses were tall and black, grim as prisons, and swarming with 
 a squalid famishing population. Many of the streets were lit- 
 tle wider than the curious rows or alleys in Yarmouth in which 
 you can hardly turn a wheelbarrow. No lamps shed even a 
 feeble light to guide the belated citizen. The tapers in the 
 shrines at the street corners alone helped to direct his steps, if 
 he chanced to be abroad without torch or lantern. It need 
 hardly be said that the streets were very insecure', and acts of 
 
 Lequel enclos sept lieues lors contient." See also Tomraaseo, p. 43; Cor- 
 ' yat's Crudities, p. 17. 
 
 * Brun and Hogenburp : Theatre des prindpales Villes. 
 f 3 fern, de Viell/eville (Pantheon Litt.), 1836, p. 510.
 
 138 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 violence frequent. At intervals during the night, the watch, a 
 company of armed men, went their round, but the noise they 
 made and the torches they carried, were a warning to the evil- 
 doer to make his escape. 
 
 The clear waters of the Seine cut the city into two parts. 
 The stately quays that now line its banks scarcely existed in 
 the reign of Charles IX. The gardens of private citizens ex- 
 tended in niany places down to the water's edge. The river 
 flowed beneath five bridges one of which (the Millers' or the 
 Birds' bridge) was for foot passengers only. It joined what is 
 now the Quai de la Megisserie to the Qua! de 1'Horloge, and 
 was swept away, both houses and inhabitants, by the flood of 
 1596. Thirty-four houses stood on each side of the bridge of 
 Notre Dame, and the street thus formed was the favorite prom- 
 enade of the Parisians. The road was so wide that three car- 
 riages could pass abreast, and the rents were higher than in any 
 other part of the city. Among the attractions of this street, 
 Gilles Corrozet does not forget to mention the charming wom- 
 en who served in the shops.* 
 
 The modern traveler now seeks in vain for the ten islands 
 which once interrupted the navigation of the Seine. That of 
 Louviers, where Charles IX. used to bathe, and where he was 
 once entertained with a naval fight, was united to the Quai Mor- 
 land in 1847. The islands of Notre Dame and Vaches, com- 
 posing the Isle of St. Louis, were once separated by a narrow 
 ditch, which is now the Rue Poulletier. The Jews' Island, 
 where Jacques Molay was beheaded, was united to the Cite by 
 Henry IV., and formed the Place Dauphine and the spur of the 
 Pont Neuf, upon which the statue of the first Bourbon king 
 still stands. The island of the Louvre, never little better than 
 a mere sand bank, has been dredged away. The others have 
 disappeared in the course of improving the navigation of the 
 
 Miror et innumerns forma prrestante puellas, 
 
 Tarn lascivo habitu cultas, adeoque facetas 
 
 Ut Priamum aut vetcrem succendere Ncstora possint. 
 
 LaFleurdes Antiquitez, Paris, 1533.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 139 
 
 river, and, La Cite alone remains. This old quarter of Paris, 
 the hot-bed of sedition, disease, and crime, has been so entirely 
 metamorphosed by the hand of improvement, that travelers 
 who knew it thirty years ago recognize it with difficulty. 
 
 Even at this time Paris was noted for its orfevrerie, its works 
 in gold and silver being much sought after. The Rue St. Den- 
 is was the principal street; its shops and warehouses were 
 famous all over Europe. Along that street kings and queens 
 used to make their solemn entrance into the capital, when the 
 merchants spent their money like water to decorate their houses 
 in welcome of their sovereign. Between it and the Rue aux 
 Fers was the Church of the Innocents, round which lay the fa- 
 mous cemetery, enclosed with dank and sombre arcades, filled 
 with shops and stalls. They were the favorite resort of law- 
 yers, and the rendezvous of fashion and intrigue, as the Cathe- 
 dral of St. Paul's was to the English court or city gallants in 
 the reign of the Stuarts. The Rue Jacob (St. Jacques) was 
 like Paternoster Row, full of shops plentifully furnished with 
 books diversos libros diversis artibus aptos. 
 
 The chief royal residence was the Louvre. The palace of 
 the Tournelles the Place Royale now occupies its site was 
 deserted after the accident to Henry II. The brick-fields which 
 gave their name to the new palace of the Tuileries had disap- 
 peared in the pi'evious century ; and Catherine, having pur- 
 chased the Marquis of Villeroy's hotel with the adjoining prop- 
 erty, gave Philibert Delorme instructions to commence that 
 striking monument of her architectural taste. 
 
 A Venetian embassador reckons that there were at this time 
 one hundred and thirty-two cities in France ; but as he gives 
 no definition of the term " city," his calculation is of little serv- 
 ice. He probably meantwalled towns, to distinguish them from 
 such as were unfortified. The approaches to the cities were 
 not then marked by airy suburbs and scattered villas ; but the 
 cultivated country or forest ran close up to the walls. One 
 ornamental erection alone serves to mark the great change that 
 has taken place. Coryat has frequent occasion to describe the
 
 140 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 " fair gallows of stone," which adorned the entrance to every 
 town. Most of them remained until they were swept away by 
 the Revolution. 
 
 The principal cities of France, after Paris, were Lyons, Or- 
 leans, Rouen, Bordeaux, and Dieppe. A paved causeway led 
 from the capital to each of these places. Orleans was so large 
 and beautiful that Charles V. called it the finest in France. It 
 was populous and well-built, and its university contained 1600 
 students, " all men and not boys, as in the other seats of ed- 
 ucation." 
 
 Rouen, sometimes called the second city in the kingdom, 
 carried on a large trade, but it had not yet become the " Man- 
 chester " of France. It had four yearly fairs, and its quays 
 were crowded with ships, sometimes as many as two hundred 
 " small vessels " being there at the same time.* Then, as now, 
 the poorer people drank no wine but " bii'a di pere e poma." 
 When Henry II. and Catherine visited Rouen in 1550, the cit- 
 izens welcomed them with a remarkable ballet or masque. The 
 banks of the Seine were transformed so as to present a picture 
 of Brazilian life. There is an old wood-cut representing the 
 curious scene. A meadow, sloping down to the river, is plant- 
 ed with trees, colored and trimmed so as to resemble those of 
 South American forests. Parroquets and other gaily-colored 
 birds are flying about them, and apes and monkeys clamber- 
 ing among the branches. The natives are represented by three 
 hundred mariners of Rouen, Dieppe, and Havre, who, unencum- 
 bered with the slightest clothing, are hunting, dancing, and 
 fighting with as much animation as the fifty " real savages just 
 arrived from America." Offensive as the exhibition would be 
 to our tastes, it was otherwise in the sixteenth century. The 
 queen was delighted " aux jolys esbatements et schyomachie 
 des sauvages." f A somewhat similar but less undraped scene 
 was represented before Charles IX. when he visited Bordeaux 
 
 * Marino Giustiniano in Tommaseo. 
 
 t (Test la deduction du sumptueux ordre de Rouen, etc. Small 4to. Rouen, 
 1551.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 141 
 
 in April, 1565. Representatives most of them stage repre- 
 sentatives of twelve nations defiled before him, among them 
 being some real " Canarians, savages, Americans, Brazilians, 
 and Taprobanians," each speaking in his native tongue. A pict- 
 ure was painted to perpetuate the memory of the scene.* 
 Bordeaux was a wealthy city, its foreign trade extensive, its 
 population so numerous that it could furnish 10,000 fight- 
 ing men, and its parliament ranked next after Paris and Tou- 
 louse. 
 
 In 1560, Dieppe possessed a mercantile marine equal to 
 that of all the rest of France. The population of the city 
 amounted to 60,000, now it is about 20,000. The ship-owners 
 of this " northern Rochelle " may compare with the Medicis. 
 When John Ango entertained Francis I. at his chateau of 
 Varengeville (now an undistinguishable heap of ruins), he re- 
 ceived the king with a magnificence unusual even in those 
 magnificent times. The rooms were decorated with costly 
 hangings, curious furniture, Italian sculpture, and precious 
 vases. Ango lent money and ships to the court, and often 
 had as many as twenty armed vessels afloat, with which he 
 ventured to measure strength with the King of Portugal. 
 When the government of the Low Countries seized all the 
 French ships in Flemish waters, Henry II. ordered Coligny to 
 equip a fleet instantly and take summary vengeance. But the 
 ports were empty, and there were no ships. " It is only the peo- 
 ple of Dieppe," said the admiral, " who can supply your maj- 
 esty with a fleet." The citizens, proud of the honor, offered 
 to pay half the expense, and fitted out nineteen vessels of one 
 hundred and twenty tons each. Ships of Caen went to Africa 
 and the New World, bringing back so much more gold than 
 could be exchanged, that the king permitted the merchants to 
 have a mint of their own. 
 
 Lyons, owing to its fairs, possessed a stronger foreign ele- 
 
 * Favin : Hist, de Navarre, an. 1565 ; Godefroy : Ceremonial de France, 
 \. p. 909 ; Anbignc : Hist. liv. iv. ch. 5 ; Popeliniere, i. liv. 10 ; Abel Jouan : 
 Voyage de Charks JX.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW.' 
 
 mcnt among its inhabitants than any other town in France. 
 In 1575 Lippomano called it " one of the most celebrated 
 cities ;" and there was a proverb that " Lyons supported the 
 crown by its taxes, and Paris by its presents." The revenue 
 contributed by the former city alone was so great, that when 
 there was a talk of suspending the fairs, it was calculated that 
 the change would involve a loss of ten millions of gold yearly. 
 The immense business led to the appointment of special tri- 
 bunals for the fairs, and a sort of clearing-house for bills of 
 exchange. The principal merchants and bankers were Ital- 
 ians : Capponi, Gondi, Spini, Deodati. Lorenzo Capponi, one 
 of the most munificent of his class, kept open house during 
 each fair, and entertained more than 4000 persons. Aft- 
 er the introduction of silk-growing, Lyons received a great 
 development. The first mulberry-tree planted in the 16th 
 century at Alais, about a league from Montelimart, was still 
 alive in 1802. In this century all Europe was supplied with 
 books from the presses of Lyons no city, Venice perhaps ex- 
 cepted, circulating more. The names of Gryphaeus and Do- 
 let, Tournes and Roville, are familiar to all book-collectors. 
 In the house of Henry Stephens (Etienne) every body spoke 
 Latin from garret to cellar. The old city occupied the space 
 between the Cours Napoleon and a line drawn from the Pont 
 Morand to the Pont de la Feuillee, the Church of St. Nizier 
 being about the middle. There were only two bridges one 
 over each river ; and a small suburb on the right bank of the 
 Saone, clustering round the cathedral and the Church of St. 
 Lawrence. The superior comfort of the inhabitants may be 
 estimated from the report of a traveler, who mentions as a 
 circumstance worthy of note, that "most of their windows 
 were made of white paper ;" although in some of the better 
 houses the upper part of the window was filled with glass. 
 
 The smaller towns of France have all undergone a change 
 more or less great : even those in the agricultural districts 
 have outgrown their walls. At Boulogne-sur-Mer the lower 
 town consisted of two or three convents and a few fishermen's
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 143 
 
 huts clustered round the Church of St. Nicholas. A popu- 
 lous suburb now covers the site of the old harbor. 
 
 Dijon, now a mere provincial town, was once a great parlia- 
 ment centre: a little capital in Eastern France.* It had a 
 vast ducal palace ; churches and abbeys were crowded close 
 together. Of the palace of Jean sans Peur, the fire has 
 spared little beyond a tall tower and some precious fragments. 
 Modern improvements and renovations have destroyed much 
 of the old city ; but that gem of the Renaissance La Maison 
 Milsand, in the Rue des Forges, still remains as an unapproach- 
 able model of architectural decoration. 
 
 The charming little town of Moulins in the Bourbonnais 
 filled the space now enclosed by the inner promenade the 
 Cours Doujar, d'Aquin, and Berulle constructed on the 
 ditches of the old wall. None of the " curious birds and 
 beasts " remain in the park ; and of the magnificent chateau 
 where Charles IX. held his court little has survived beyond 
 the huge unbattlemented tower ; and of the steeples for which 
 the town was once so famous, only one (the clock-tower) still 
 soars above the houses. 
 
 The greatest change of all has taken place in the district 
 that lies around the great manufacturing town of St. Etienne. 
 In 1560 it was a pleasant wooded valley; no clanging en- 
 gines disturbed its silence, no clouds of smoke defiled the air. 
 Now it is one of the busiest centres of modern industry, and 
 in noise and dirt may almost vie with Birmingham. 
 
 Toulon, now the great arsenal of the French navy, was a 
 small port containing only 637 houses, and covering an area 
 of 660 acres. Its whole artillery consisted of two bombardes 
 and twenty-five pounds of powder. Its naval importance dates 
 from the reign of Henry IV. In 1543, when Barbarossa's fleet 
 was received into the harbor, the inhabitants were ordered to 
 
 * Et ninsi Dijon a le bruit 
 
 "D'etre 1'une, sans point de tache, 
 Des plus belles villes qu'on snche. 
 
 Blason et Louentje de, la noble Ville de Dyjon.
 
 144 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 abandon the town for six months under pain of death, leaving 
 their houses and all they could not remove at the mercy of 
 the Turks.* 
 
 From this imperfect sketch of the condition of France at 
 the outbreak of the Religious Wars, the reader may in some 
 degree be able to understand how such a crime as the St. 
 Bartholomew massacre was possible. Although right and 
 wrong are always the same, our appreciation of them depends 
 in the main upon our education and the circumstances around 
 us ; and it would be unfair to judge the men of the sixteenth 
 century by our nineteenth century standard. 
 
 * Reyistres du Conseil de Toulon, B, No. 10, fol. 247.
 
 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 145 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FROM THE ACCESSION OF CHARLES IX. TO THE MASSA- 
 CRE AT VASSY. 
 
 [1560-1562.] 
 
 Character of the Boy-King Portrait of Catherine The States-General 
 The Chancellor's Address Speeches of the Three Orators Agitation in 
 the Provinces Religious Amnesty Edict of July Provincial Assemblies 
 Convoked Instructions of the Isle of France The Triumvirate States 
 of Pontoise Proposals of Reform Colloquy of Poissy Beza Confer- 
 ence in the Queen's Chamber King's Speech Beza's Defense Cath- 
 erine's Liberal Spirit Spread of New Doctrines Monster Congregations 
 The Guises Intrigue with Spain Violence of the Clergy Massacres at 
 Cahors and Aurillac Amiens Huguenot Outrages Riot of St. Medard 
 Notables at St. Germains Edict of January, 1562 Violence at Dijon 
 and Aix Anthony's Apostasy The Duke and the Cardinal at Saverne 
 Massacre at Vassy Both Parties Arm Guise Enters Paris Plot to 
 Seize the King. 
 
 THE accession of Charles IX., a ohild not eleven years old, 
 was a revolution. " Now we fell from a fever into a frenzy," 
 quaintly writes an old historian ; " a reign cursed in the city 
 and cursed in the field ; cursed in the beginning and cursed 
 in the ending."* 
 
 The new king is described by the Venetian embassador as 
 an amiable, handsome boy, with fine eyes and graceful carriage, 
 eating and drinking little, quick-witted and spirited, gentle and 
 liberal.f 
 
 The same gossiping writer supplies a striking picture of the 
 
 * A General Hist, of France, by John de Serres (Serranus). Fol. Lond. 
 1624, p. 692! 
 
 t Beza had a favorable opinion of the boy-king, but not of the mother : 
 " De rege optimam spem esse, et hoc tibi, ut certissimum, confirmo. Sed 
 puer est et matrem habet." Beza to Haller, 24th January, 1561, in Baum's 
 Beza, ii. p. 25, App. 
 
 K
 
 146 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 queen-mother at this time. He speaks of her keen comprehen- 
 sion, her business habits, and her sound understanding. " She 
 never loses sight of the king, and permits no one to sleep in 
 his room. She knows that she is envied because she is a for- 
 .eigner .... Her plans are deep, and she holds every thing 
 in her own hands .... She lives carelessly, has an enor- 
 mous appetite, and, to keep down her fat, she takes much exer- 
 cise, walks much, rides much on horseback, and hunts with the 
 king. Her complexion is very dark, and she is already [cetat. 
 43] a stout woman." * A letter she wrote about this time to 
 her daughter Elizabeth is eminently characteristic : f 
 
 "As I have given the messenger instructions to say many 
 things to you, I write only to pray you, my child, not to feel 
 sadness on my behalf ; for I will try to demean myself so that 
 God and the world may approve of my actions ; for my chief 
 care shall be the honor of God and the conservation of my au- 
 thority ; not, however, for my own benefit, but for the preser- 
 vation of this realm and the good of your brothers, whom I 
 love for the sake of him who was your common father. My 
 dear child, commend your happiness to the keeping of the Al- 
 mighty ; for you have seen me as happy and prosperous as 
 you are now yourself, when my only sorrow was the fear of not 
 being sufficiently beloved by the king your father, who gave me 
 more honor than I merited, but whom I so loved that, in his 
 presence, I always felt awe. God has bereaved me of my hus- 
 band ; and now I weep for your brother. He has committed 
 to my charge three little children, a kingdom distracted by di- 
 visions, within which there is not one individual in whom I can 
 trust, or one who is not swayed by private partiality. There- 
 fore, my dear, take warning by my fate : confide not exclusive- 
 ly in the love which you bear toward your husband, and which 
 he renders back to you ; nor in the pomps and luxuries of your 
 present power : but lift up your heart to Him alone who can 
 
 * Baschct, p. 510. 
 
 t Aubespine Negotiations, p. 781. The translation of this unctuous letter 
 is from Miss Freer's Elizabeth of Valois, i. p. 230.
 
 CATHERINE DE MEDICIS.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 147 
 
 continue these blessings to you ; and who, when it is His sov- 
 ereign will, can bring you to my present condition ; the which 
 I would rather die than see you suffer, from dread lest your 
 constancy might fail under the bitter trials which I have en- 
 dured, solely through His sustaining aid and protection." 
 
 There can be no doubj that Catherine was fully sensible of 
 the difficulties and dangers of her position. More than once 
 she quoted the well-known words : " Vce tibi, terra, cujus rex 
 estpuer!" She toiled and intrigued and struggled for herself 
 and for her children not for France. The Guises threatened 
 both, and her task was how to thwart, if not defeat, her rivals : 
 "Virilibus curls vitia muliebria" She was not persistent 
 enough. Correro calls her " timid," * and her heart often fail- 
 ed her at a decisive moment. Her first care, however, was to 
 tranquilize the country ; or, to use her own words to the Bish- 
 op Limoges, her embassador in Spain, " to restore gently all 
 that the wickedness of the times had damaged in France." 
 Nor was this an easy matter, if we may trust the Venetian re- 
 ports, which tell of " an administration almost without rule 
 or guide, justice violated and polluted, deadly hatreds, the pas- 
 sions and caprices of the powerful ones, the opposing interests 
 of the princes, which varied with the opportunities ; religious 
 troubles ; disobedience and tumult among the people, with re- 
 volt among the grandees." f 
 
 Charles being only ten years old he was born on the 27th 
 June, 1550 his mother, with the approval of the council of 
 state,J assumed the authority though not the title of regent. 
 Conde was released from prison and Anthony made lieuten- 
 
 * Walsingham describes her as "naturally timid ;" Travannes (Mem. ii. 
 256) : " ambitieuse et craintive ;" Suriano : " timida e irresoluta ;" and 
 again, "per paura di se stessa;" and Languet (Epist. i. 41): "Regina, ut 
 est mulicr, territa." t Baschet, p. 518. 
 
 J The chief members of this council were Anthony of Navarre ; the 
 Cardinals of Bourbon, Lorraine, Tournon, Guise, and Chatillon ; the 
 Prince of Roche-sur-Yon ; the Dukes of Guise and Aumale, the Chancel- 
 lor, Marshals St. Andre" and Brissac, with the Bishops of Orleans, Valence, 
 and Amiens. Conde could not act, being in prison.
 
 148 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 ant-general of France, while the Constable Montmorency re- 
 sumed the superintendence of the army, and Guise retained 
 his place of grand-master. When the Constable entered Or- 
 leans, he dismissed the soldiers he found at the gate : " I will 
 take care," he said, " that the king shall travel safely, without 
 guard, all over the kingdom." 
 
 The members of the States-General were silent but not un- 
 observant spectators of these things. Having been summoned 
 to meet at Orleans by Francis II., the curious constitutional 
 question arose, Whether they were not ipso facto dissolved? 
 but it was ingeniously argued, that though the man may die, 
 the king does not, and therefore their sittings would be per- 
 fectly legal. 
 
 The States-General, or assembly of the three orders (cler- 
 gy, nobles, and commons), date from the beginning of the 
 fourteenth century, when Philip the Fair called them togeth- 
 er on the occasion of his quarrel with Pope Boniface VIII. 
 They held but one session, yet, in that, they proclaimed the 
 temporal independence of France, and scattered forever the 
 ideas of universal monarchy entertained by the papacy. The 
 States met at indeterminate epochs, and were at one time in a 
 fair way to lead the European nations in the difficult path 
 of representative government. In the assembly held at Tours, 
 in 1484, they called for extensive reforms, and asserted a claim 
 to be summoned every two years. They went farther, and in 
 language as bold as that of our Petition of Rights, a century 
 and a half later, declared that " the said States-General expect- 
 ed that henceforward no taxes would be imposed on the peo- 
 ple until they had been consulted on the subject, nor unless the 
 imposition of such taxes should be made with their free-will 
 and consent, as the guardians and keepers of the liberties and 
 privileges of the realm." These resolutions came to nothing: 
 the crown continued to levy taxes by proclamation, and near- 
 ly fourscore years elapsed before the Estates * were called to- 
 
 * The lawyers and parliaments were always jealous of the States-General.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 149 
 
 gether again. And now in 1560, when France was in great 
 peril from internal commotions, they were to meet once more 
 in the city of Orleans. Even had the country been entirely 
 quiet, the financial condition of the state was such, that extra- 
 ordinary means of raising supplies would have been required. 
 The expenditure exceeded the annual revenue by ten millions, 
 and though such a deficit may be easily met by modern 
 finance-ministers, there were not three hundred years ago the 
 same convenient methods of filling an empty exchequer. The 
 Guises knew that the summoning of the States-General was a 
 hostile measure aimed at them, but had not opposed it for 
 two reasons : firstly, it would relieve them of the unpopularity 
 they might possibly incur by attempting to raise the necessary 
 supplies by increasing taxation under the royal mandate ; sec- 
 ondly, they hoped to receive a large accession of strength from 
 the Catholic members. Each party, indeed, labored to gain 
 the popular support, and at the electoral meetings throughout 
 the kingdom there was an excitement that augured well for the 
 revival of constitutional forms of government. The Hugue- 
 nots of Paris went to the Hotel-de-Ville and insisted that their 
 remonstrance and confession should be embodied in the cahier 
 of instructions. In that drawn up by the municipality of 
 Provins the grievances of the people were declared in plain 
 and forcible language. " The clergy," they said, " are too rich, 
 the Church too wealthy; the priests should have less money 
 and keep fewer concubines ; they should give the people more 
 instruction in good manners, distribute more liberal alms to 
 the poor, and be less disorderly in their passions, less luxuri- 
 ous in their dress, less given to haunting taverns and houses 
 of ill-fame ; they should not ride out a hunting so frequently 
 with hawks and hounds, or so grind the people in body and 
 goods. . . . Justice is too dear, the fees are excessive, and 
 the judge ought to be paid out of the public purse. . . . 
 
 Pasquier, who was a " parliamentarian," calls the appeal to the Three Es- 
 tates a " vieille folie courant en 1'esprit fran^ais."
 
 150 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 The people are oppressed by the soldiery, who beat and plun- 
 der them, and turn them out of house and home, and kill 
 them. They are grievously oppressed by taxes, from which 
 the rich by favor are exempt. . . . The salt is not good, 
 dry, or pure; it contains a sixth part of rubbish. . . . The 
 gentry do not defend their people or neighbors, as they are 
 bound to do ; they hold taxable property, and carry on trades 
 without paying for licenses." * 
 
 The assembly of the Three Estates was solemnly inaugu- 
 rated on the 13th December, 1560, in the great hall of the cas- 
 tle of Orleans, where the Black Prince had feasted, and Joan 
 of Arc had sat in council with Dunois, La Hire, Xaintrailles, 
 and the flower of French chivalry, while " the English wolves " 
 under Talbot were prowling round the city walls. The vault- 
 ed roof, long since crumbled to ruins, was painted and decora- 
 ted with fleur-de-lis ; the walls were hung with tapestry repre- 
 senting mythological and allegorical scenes. On a small car- 
 peted platform or dais, at the upper end, sat Charles IX. ; at 
 his left, the queen-mother ; beyond her the king's sister and 
 the Queen of Navarre ; while the king's brother and Anthony 
 of Navarre occupied similar places to the right of the infant 
 monarch. At the end of the platform sat the Duke of Guise 
 with his ivory staff as grand-master of the household; at his 
 right the constable with the naked sword of state ; at his left 
 the chancellor with his golden mace. These were on low- 
 backed chairs, according to the strict etiquette of the court ; 
 all the other members of the States sat on benches. To the 
 right of the throne were the cardinals in their robes of scarlet, 
 and the high dignitaries of the Church ; opposite them, the 
 
 * F. Bourquelot : Hist, de Provins, ii. p. 132. An ordonnance of 1565 
 throws a curious light on the morals of the clergy : " Ad instantiam 
 promotoris inhibitum fuit omnibus et singulis hujus ecclesiae [St. Quiriace 
 at Provins], canonicis, capellariis, vicariis, et aliis habituatis (?) ne, quovis 
 quaesito colore, audeant mulieres scandalosas de lapsu et incontinentia car- 
 nis, quovis modo suspectas, in eorum domos claustrales introducere vel in- 
 tromittere, et si quas habeant, illico et incontinent! ejiciant et expellant, sub 
 pcena excommunicationis et amcndse summae decem librarum et amplius."
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 151 
 
 nobility in court dresses of every costly material and hue. 
 The members of the Third Estate, dressed in sober garments, 
 faced the throne. Four secretaries of state were present to 
 record the proceedings. Soldiers with spear and cross-bow, 
 halberd and partisan, lined the walls ; chamberlains and equer- 
 ries, the esquires of the nobles, and the chaplains and deacons 
 in attendance upon the churchmen, filled up the hall. A little 
 behind the throne were two galleries set apart for the ladies 
 and other spectators, among whom were several Huguenots 
 of mark, whose grave faces and dress seemed almost out of 
 place among their brilliant companions. 
 
 The proceedings were opened by an address from the 
 Chancellor Michel de 1'Hopital, one of the greatest and 
 noblest men of the sixteenth century. When he rose to 
 speak, his lofty stature, pale face, and long white beard 
 filled the spectators with admiration, and an involuntary mur- 
 mur ran through the assembly. He seemed the very model 
 of a senator and magistrate. First bending the knee to his 
 royal master, and then seating himself again at the king's 
 desire, he proceeded to state the motives that had induced the 
 government to call the Estates together, and to point out 
 very explicitly that they were mere " counters in the king's 
 hands," and that their sole duty was to " petition and obey." 
 It did not occur to any of his hearers to ask why they were 
 assembled at all if such were their duties and position. Ad- 
 verting to the religious dissensions, the chancellor advised the 
 Catholic members " to adorn themselves with virtue and holy 
 living," and to attack their adversaries with arms of charity, 
 prayer, and persuasion. " The sword," he added, " is of 
 little avail against the understanding; gentleness will make 
 more converts than violence." Yet even this large-hearted 
 man could not see the possibility of two forms of religion 
 existing side by side in the same state : he wanted uniformity, 
 where he should have been satisfied with harmony. " It is 
 foolish," he said, " to look for peace, repose, and friendship 
 between persons of different creeds. An Englishman and a
 
 152 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 Frenchman may live together on good terms, but not two 
 people of different religions, who dwell in the same city. 
 One faith, one law, one king." For this reason he proposed a 
 national council, which might reform abuses, and so reconcile 
 the two parties, adding " that if the pope did not call one the 
 king would." The chancellor concluded his long harangue by 
 drawing their attention to the disordered state of the finances. 
 " No orphan was ever more destitute of resources than ouryoung 
 king," he said. The public debt amounted to forty-three 
 million livres, paying the enormous though ordinary rate of 
 interest, namely, twelve per cent. Nor was it easy to see how 
 such a debt could be met, considering that the expenditure 
 exceeded twenty-two million livres, while the total annual reve- 
 nue barely amounted to twelve millions.* 
 
 The assembly now broke up, the three Estates proceeding 
 to their separate deliberations: the Clergy in the refectory 
 of the Franciscans, the Nobles at the Dominicans', and the 
 Tiers Etat at the Carmelites'.f The first act of each body 
 was to choose its orator or speaker. The Clergy elected the 
 Cardinal of Lorraine, and recommended the other two 
 orders to concur in their choice. This they refused to do,J 
 on the ground that they might have something to say against 
 him a hint which drove the cardinal from Orleans. Jean 
 Quentin, a canon of Notre Dame, was elected in his place, 
 the Nobles having chosen Jacques de Silly, baron of Roche- 
 fort ; and the Third Estate, an advocate of Bordeaux, named 
 Lange (Angelus) or Langin. 
 
 On the 1st January, 1561, the Three Estates assembled again 
 in the great hall of the castle, where the king attended to hear 
 the Speakers of the orders deliver their addresses. Jean Lange 
 
 * On the calculation that a livre would purchase as much in 1560 as 
 twelve francs would now, the debt was equivalent to twenty millions sterling. 
 
 t MSS. L'Ordre et Seance, etc. 
 
 t " Ipsius audaciam nobilitas et plebs magno cum fremitu repulissent." 
 Beza to Bullinger ; Baum's Beza, ii. p. 20, App. 
 
 "Habere quasdam in mandatis qua? contra ipsum card, promere jube- 
 bantur." Thuanus, v. lib. 27, p. 14 (Paris, 1G09).
 
 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 153 
 
 began by denouncing " the three ruling passions of the clergy 
 ignorance, avarice, and wantonness. Livings are given to 
 those who have. never learned. Bishops transfer their duties 
 to unworthy deputies ; while the prelates ruin themselves by 
 prodigality and loose living. These things can only be re- 
 formed by means of a council a national council." He 
 went on farther to demand the restitution to the clergy of 
 the right of electing the bishops, as in the tune of the 
 primitive Church, the dedication of a portion of the ecclesi- 
 astical property to the foundation of hospitals, colleges, and 
 schools, the suppression of every kind of tribute or payment to 
 the court of Rome, and a check upon the tyranny of the nobles 
 over the peasantry. Of the sufferings of this class, Lange's 
 cahier presented a distressing picture. It may be overcolored, 
 but its substantial truth is unfortunately established By other 
 evidence. " Some poor creatures," he said, " having been rob- 
 bed of their little store to pay their taxes, have starved to 
 death during the winter. Others in despair have murdered 
 their wives and children and then themselves. Others have 
 been dragged to prison and there left to die for want of food. 
 Some have forsaken their families and fled. Many are in such 
 distress, that, having neither horse nor ox, they are constrained 
 to harness their own bodies to the plough." The last of the 
 three hundred and fifty articles of this cahier contained a de- 
 mand which would have changed the current of French his- 
 tory had it been granted : it was that the States-General should 
 be held every five years. 
 
 Jacques de Silly, the orator of the Nobility, began by mak- 
 ing a preposterous defense of the divine origin of his order, 
 and went on to accuse the Clergy of encroaching on the power 
 of the judicial tribunals.* " It is your business," he said, " not 
 to interfere with edicts, but to pray, preach, and administer the 
 sacraments." The Nobility were more eager for change than 
 
 * The assembly acted up to this principle by ordering (7th January) the 
 release of all prisoners confined on account of religion ; but it was done 
 secretly " for fear of scandal."
 
 154 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 the Tiers Etat. Those of Touraine demanded a church reform 
 in conformity with the pure word of God ; others, that ah 1 re- 
 ligious differences should be decided by the Bible alone. 
 
 The Clergy wisely thought that their best policy would be 
 to stand mainly on the defensive.* Their orator, Jean Quentin, 
 who read his speech, acknowledged that their discipline needed 
 correction, but that such a reform could not be brought about 
 by profaning the churches, destroying the images, and expelling 
 the priests. " I contend," he said, " that it is necessary to pre- 
 serve the Catholic religion in France, and consequently to re- 
 fuse liberty of conscience to such as dissent from it." He then 
 argued that all ecclesiastical property ought to be used accord- 
 ing to the wishes of the donors, and that the clergy should be 
 relieved of the decimes and other imposts by which they were 
 oppressed. In the course of his speech, Quentin went out of 
 his way to insult Coligny, as a " reviver of old heresies ;" and 
 advised " that any one petitioning for freedom of worship 
 should be declared heretical, and proceeded against according- 
 ly, so that the evil might be removed from among us."f He 
 gave point to his words by looking at the admiral, who com- 
 plained of such language and demanded an apology, which was 
 made. This humiliation, added to the satires and epigrams 
 showered upon him by the offended Huguenots, gave poor 
 Quentin such a shock that he is reported to have died a few 
 days after. 
 
 In the last sitting of the Estates the Abbot of Bois Aubry, 
 secretary of the Clergy in the preparation of their cahier, 
 strongly condemned the use of force in religious matters. 
 " The conscience," he said, " suffers no one to command it 
 but reason ; and therefore to desire in our days to deprive 
 the followers of the pretended Reformed religion of the exer- 
 cise of their reason can produce nothing but evil. It would 
 be driving them to atheism; a thing which every good 
 
 * The language of their cahiers was more moderate than Quentin's speech ; 
 but in the text they have, for obvious reasons, been treated as one document, 
 t "Ut auferatur malum de medio nostri."
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 155 
 
 Catholic should hold in horror and execration. ... It is 
 only by means of a Council that we can remedy the evil of relig- 
 ious diversity now among us, and not by the sword or the 
 gibbet. Nine royal edicts were issued during the former 
 reigns, and the courts of Parliament have published decrees 
 without number, in order to abolish this so-called Reformed 
 religion, by the punishment of fire and other severe pains and 
 penalties. They omitted nothing to prevent its growth, and 
 did not succeed. Our Holy Father (it is said) will never 
 consent to permit the exercise of their religion ; but what 
 answer would he make if any one should ask him why he 
 allows the Jews the exercise of their religion at Rome and 
 Avignon, and in all the States of the Church ? Would he say 
 that the religion of the Jews, who do not believe in Christ, is 
 better than the religion of those who do believe in him ?" 
 
 The Estates separated Avithout settling any thing : they did 
 nothing toward reconciling the two religious parties or reliev- 
 ing the finances of the kingdom. They called for the redress 
 of many grievances ; and when the court would have been 
 willing to concede a few reforms in exchange for pecuniary 
 supplies, the Estates said that their instructions, which they 
 could not exceed, gave them no power or authority to raise 
 money. They thus virtually threw away " the keys of the 
 purse " the most potent guarantee of good government. It 
 was a fatal mistake, but it does not appear that the court ob- 
 served it any more than the Estates. The government saw 
 only that the States-General was a body too numerous for 
 the dispatch of business, and it was agreed that the provin- 
 cial Estates, grouped into thirteen assemblies, should each 
 elect three deputies, and that the thirty-nine thus returned 
 should meet in the following August. The bishops were also 
 convoked to this assembly, and a great number of them 
 actually obeyed the summons. 
 
 The meeting of the States-General did not quiet the agita- 
 tion in the provinces. The war of words soon became a war 
 of blows, and sei'ious riots occurred in many large towns.
 
 156 MASSACEE OP ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 At Beauvais, Cardinal Chatillon, the admiral's brother, near- 
 ly lost his life, because on Easter Sunday he had celebrated 
 divine service in his private chapel and not in the cathe- 
 dral, and had administered the holy communion in both kinds, 
 after the Huguenot fashion. The mob broke into the houses 
 of some persons suspected of heresy, and catching one Adrian 
 Fourre, a priest, they killed him, and were dragging him to 
 the voirie to bum him, when the public executioner inter- 
 fered, asserted his rights, and burned the body himself amid 
 the shouts of the populace. Some of the rioters were after- 
 ward hanged, when the fanatic people rose and hanged the 
 executioner. At Le Mans a Protestant was killed, and the 
 bishop did not scruple to write to the king, asking pardon for 
 the murderers. At Rennes, the Huguenots ventured to wor- 
 ship openly, for which they were attacked by a " noisy bawl- 
 ing bully" of a grey friar, who exhorted his hearers to fall 
 irpon them by night. The municipal officers did not attempt 
 to silence him, fearing that if they should not succeed they 
 would next day be " publicly and scandalously preached at 
 before the people."* In December, 1560, an image of the 
 Virgin was found lying in the kennel at Carcassonne. The 
 sacrilege was imputed to the Huguenots, and the mob rose 
 upon them, and many were killed. One man had his mouth 
 cut from ear to ear, and an iron bit was fastened into it. 
 The town hangman murdered five Huguenots, whom he 
 skinned, and then ate the heart of one of them. He also 
 sawed another, a private enemy, in two. 
 
 It must not, however, be supposed that the provocation and 
 insult were all on one side. On the 25th March, 1561, the 
 high bailiff of Blois sent the queen-mother a long account of 
 the mischievous doings and profanity of the Huguenots ; how 
 they had broken open churches, shattered images and cruci- 
 fixes, and carried away thirteen young women from the con- 
 
 ,* Lobirteau, Hist. Bretagne, ii. 280 ; Bertrand d'Argentre to the Duke of 
 Estampes.
 
 MASSACRE or ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 157 
 
 vent of Guiche. Even in Paris, the hot-bed of Romish fanat- 
 icism, the Huguenots broke the images set up in the streets, 
 and in some of the churches. They also held tumultuous 
 meetings in the Pre aux Clercs, which were at last put down. 
 The government, desirous of acting with mildness in the dis- 
 tracted state of the country, had summoned a meeting of the 
 Privy Council on the very day of the dissolution of the States- 
 General of Orleans, in order to take into consideration the 
 petitions of the Huguenots for leave to celebrate their worship 
 in private. The prayer was refused, for the Lorraine party 
 was still strong ; but the queen-mother not long after issued a 
 general pardon, liberating all persons who had been impris- 
 oned for their religion, and commanding the magistrates to 
 restore the property of which the lawful owners had been de- 
 prived in consequence of their heretical opinions. At the 
 same time all the king's siibjects were exhorted to conform 
 to the rites and usages of the national Church, and the penal- 
 ty of death was denounced against those who, under pretense 
 of supporting the interests of religion, should disturb the pub- 
 lic tranquillity. As this was not a sufficient protection to the 
 Reformed party, letters patent were issued in April, repeating 
 the former salutary provisions, forbidding men to revile each 
 other with the odious appellations of Papist and Huguenot, or 
 to assemble in large bodies, or to make domiciliary visits 
 under pretense of discovering religious practices contrary to 
 law ; and permitting the return of all who had been forced to 
 leave the kingdom in consequence of their opinions, provided 
 they were willing to conform externally to the Catholic relig- 
 ion. Such persons as would not submit to these regulations 
 had liberty to sell their property and leave France. The re- 
 vised edict was ordered to be read in all the churches, and a 
 cordelier at Provins introduced it in the following grotesque 
 terms : " My dear Christian brethren, I have received instruc- 
 tions to read an edict ordering the cats and mice to live in 
 peace together, and that we in France that is to say, the Her- 
 etics and the Catholics should do the same, and that such is
 
 158 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 the king's pleasure. I am sorry for it, and I am grieved to 
 see the new reign begin so unpromisingly." 
 
 Even the small concessions made by this edict were severe- 
 ly blamed by the pope and the King of Spain ; * while numer- 
 ous outbreaks in various parts of France bloody protests 
 against toleration, like our own Gordon riots showed that 
 the people were very much divided in their sentiments upon 
 it. In order, therefore, to tranquillize the public mind, the 
 chancellor advised the queen-mother to consult the Parliament 
 of Paris on the best means of suppressing these religious dis- 
 orders. A solemn meeting was held in July (1561), Charles, 
 Catherine, and the chief nobility being present. The debate, 
 which De FHopital opened with a wise and conciliatory ad- 
 dress, was long and stormy. " We have not met to discuss 
 points of doctrine," he said, " but to deliberate on the best 
 means of preventing the dissensions occasioned by the differ- 
 ence of religious opinion, and to put an end to the license and 
 rebellion of which that difference has hitherto proved a con- 
 stant source. The devil has entered into these contests, and 
 no one thinks of reforming himself." In other words, relig- 
 ion was a mere pretext. The parliament was much divided : 
 some contended that the edicts against the Huguenots ought to 
 be wholly suspended until a meeting of the National Council; 
 another that they should be carried out more strictly ; while 
 a third party were of opinion that the sole cognizance of her- 
 esy should be assigned to the bishops, and that a severe penal- 
 ty, short of death, should be inflicted upon all who assembled, 
 even peacefully, for religious worship.f This proposal was 
 carried by a majority of three votes, and the result was the 
 Edict of July, 15 61, forbidding, under pain of death v the use 
 of insulting terms, and any act of violence under color of re- 
 
 * Chantonnay to Catherine, 22d April, 15G1 ; Mem de Conde, ii. p. 6. 
 
 fit is hinted in a contemporary letter, that many feared to speak their 
 minds lest they should be treated like Du Bourg. Languet disapproves of 
 the Edict of July, and says of Catherine : " Non mihi videtur caute cgissc." 
 Lib. ii. Ep. liv. p. 137.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 159 
 
 ligion. All public and private meetings were interdicted; 
 the bishops were still to take cognizance of the crime of here- 
 sy, but the penalties were restricted to banishment ; and, final- 
 ly, the king granted a general amnesty, on condition that 
 every body lived peaceably and catholically. The Huguenots 
 gamed little by this decree beyond the abolition of the death 
 penalty in cases of heresy ; indeed, it actually diminished the 
 toleration they already enjoyed ; and yet the Parliament of 
 Paris would only register it provisionally, on the ground that 
 it was too favorable. That this opinion Avas not shared by the 
 Huguenots is clear from a hymn written on the occasion, of 
 which the following is a portion : 
 
 Quant a moi, je ne peux vivre 
 
 Qu'avec ce qu'il interdit ; 
 Aussi le mien corps je livre 
 
 Aux peines de son Edit. 
 Qu'il me commando exiler, 
 Qu'il fasse mes os brftler, 
 Qu'il m'etrangle d'une corde, 
 Je le veux et m'y accorde. . . . 
 
 N'aie done, 6 peuple, crainte 
 
 Du supplice qui t'attend, 
 Car cette dure contrainte 
 
 Jusqu'a 1'ame ne s'etend. 
 
 That the restrictions and penalties of the July edict were un- 
 necessary is clear enough from indisputable contemporaneous 
 evidence. On April 25th of this very year De Crussol wrote 
 to the queen-regent from Montpellier, that the Reformed had 
 petitioned him to be allowed to live hi peace ; that he found in 
 them nothing but " great obedience and reverence," and that 
 they were loyal subjects. He goes on to complain of the Par- 
 liament of Toulouse, infringing the edict and detaining the Hu- 
 guenots in prison : " It looks as if they wanted to amend the 
 said edict, or to make a new one." Six months later we find 
 Prosper de Sainte Croix (Santa Croce), the papal legate, 
 equally emphatic in his praise of the Reformed. Writing to 
 Cardinal Borromeo, the pope's nephew, on the 16th October, 
 1561, he says: "In Gascony and other places, I saw no muti-
 
 160 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 lated images, no broken crosses, no deserted churches, as I had 
 been told I should ; " and then proceeds to speak of the prop- 
 er feeling of the people on the matter where a cross had been 
 broken. 
 
 Ever since the accession of Charles IX. the Huguenots had 
 been growing in favor at court, and the true cause of this fa- 
 vor was not far to seek. Philip II. was known to be intriguing 
 with. the Guises to marry the widowed Mary Stuart to his son 
 Don Carlos. This was the first step in a w T ell-devised plot to 
 aggrandize Spain and crush the Reformation. By this mar- 
 riage Philip would become master of Scotland, paralyze En- 
 gland by exciting the hopes of the Romanists in both countries, 
 and prevent Elizabeth from sending aid to the rebels in Flan- 
 ders. The influence of the Guises would also be so far increased 
 that France would be entirely under their control. All this 
 Catherine saw, and to checkmate Spain she drew nearer to En- 
 gland, and only three years later (Sept. 1564) actually proposed 
 a marriage between Charles IX. and Elizabeth.* 
 
 The favor shown to the Huguenots greatly annoyed the or- 
 thodox party. Old Montmorency was greatly scandalized that 
 Conde, Coligny, and others ate meat in Lent ; and that Arch- 
 bishop Montluc, brother of the brutal soldier of that name, 
 openly preached that it was not wrong to pray to God in French, 
 and that the Scriptures ought to be translated into the vulgar 
 tongue. The halls of St. Germain's and Fontainebleau were 
 thrown open to Huguenot ministers, and " it seemed as if the 
 whole court had become Calvinist," says the Jesuit Maiinbourg. 
 Catherine received the Protestant leaders with favor, and as- 
 sumed the character of a devout inquirer after truth.f Chan- 
 
 * Mem. de Castelnau; see also Mignet, Journ.des Savants, 1847, pp. 651- 
 G59. In a letter (dated 1565) Castelnau says of Elizabeth: "Je ne la vis 
 jamais plus belle ni plus jolie, et vous promets qu'il y a telle fille de quinze 
 ans, qui pense etre belle, qui n'en approche point. An reste, ellc a de 
 grandes et rares vertus, et vn grand, royaume " (no doubt in his eyes her great- 
 est virtue). 
 
 t "Ellc leur donne a entendre qu'elle veut faire instruire le roi son fils en 
 leur religion." Dlscours Merveilleux, p. xxi. On this matter we may sup-
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 161 
 
 tonnay, the Spanish embassador, scarcely wrote a letter to his 
 royal master in which he did not complain of the toleration 
 shown to heretics, * and of the influence of the admiral, whose 
 chaplain often preached to a congregation of more than 300 
 persons. Another time he writes : " The day after Easter Sun- 
 day the public preachings in the great court of Fontainebleau, 
 before the lodgings of Admiral Coligny, in the presence of M. 
 de Conde, have been forbidden." On the 9th July he says that 
 not a day passes without preaching " in the mansion of some 
 lord or lady of the court." The same busy correspondent in- 
 forms us that in August, 1561, Beza preached in the hotel of 
 the Prince- of Conde at St. Germains and in the royal palace, 
 and that the Reformed ministers " were more confident than 
 the Catholic." At another time we. read that, in consequence 
 of the favor shown to the heretics, there had occurred every day 
 at Paris and elsewhere, " seditions, tumults, and murders of 
 Protestants and Catholics."f A little later Chantonnay men- 
 tions that certain bishops, adopting the doctrine and language of 
 the heretics, called for reform in the Church ; and that the clergy 
 were made a laughing-stock in the presence even of the papal 
 legate. " After supper the other evening, when the cardinal- 
 legate was with the queen, the king, his brother the Duke of 
 Orleans, and the Prince of Beam, entered the room, followed 
 by many others, all of them dressed up as cardinals, bishops, 
 abbots, and priests, riding upon asses, and each carrying on the 
 crupper behind him a page dressed as a loose woman. J There 
 
 pose the writer of that scurrilous pamphlet to be well informed, though we 
 may doubt Catherine's sincerity. See also Agrippa d'Aubigne' (liv. iv. ch. 
 3) on the "langage de Canaan" the queen employed in her conversations 
 with the Protestant pastors. See also Laboureur (i. p. 283), where she is 
 described ns ''infected with this venom." 
 
 * Chantonnay advised that the heretics should be punished, Catherine re- 
 plied : " II n'etait pas possible, vu le grand nombre. . . . sans miner toutc 
 chose et exciter line guerre civile." Lett, of 8th January, ]">G1 ; Mem d>> 
 Conde, ii. p. G01. 
 
 t Mem de, Conde, ii. p. 11. 
 
 J " Vestido como putas." Chantonnay to Philip IT., 28th October, 1561 ; 
 Simancas Archives: Journal des Savans, 1859, p. 159. 
 
 L
 
 162 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 was a good laugh at it, and they continue to amuse themselves, 
 calling the Prince of Bearn legate, because he was dressed as 
 a cardinal." The nuncio complained of this masque, for which 
 Catherine apologized as being " only a childish jest." Margaret 
 of Valois, afterward wife of Henry IV., writes in her memoirs 
 that " all the court was infected with heresy," that " many of 
 the lords and ladies tried to convert her," that " her brother of 
 Anjou [afterward Henry III.] had not escaped the unhappy 
 influence, and that he used to throw her prayer-book into the 
 fire and give her Huguenot hymns instead." Considering that 
 Margaret was at this time barely eight years old, her testi- 
 mony, given nearly forty years later, is of little value, except as 
 corroborating from another point of view, the evidence of other 
 witnesses. The Duke of Bouillon writes in his memoirs, that 
 another of Margaret's brothers, Alen9on, " favored the cause of 
 the Religion." * From all this it is pretty clear that France, at 
 the beginning of the new reign, was on the brink of great 
 changes, and that, if Catherine had been a woman of good prin- 
 ciples, the current of French history would have been turned 
 into another and a better channel. The Huguenots, believing 
 her to be sincere in her protestations, exhorted her " to say but 
 one word, and Christ would be worshiped in truth and purity 
 throughout the kingdom." But that word the queen-mother 
 had no intention of uttering. Like many of those trained be- 
 neath the shadow of St. Peter's, she was outwardly fervent 
 enough, " pious after the Italian fashion," but at heart she be- 
 lieved more in witchcraft and astrology than in God. 
 
 Preparatory to the reassembling of the States- General, it 
 had been thought advisable to call together the provincial as- 
 semblies with the view of coming to an understanding regard- 
 ing the matters to be brought before the general body. Each 
 
 *In 1561, Michcli, the Venetian cmbnssador, says that three-fourths of 
 the kingdom are filled with heresy. They met and preached without any 
 regard to the royal prohibition ; and he notes it as very remarkable, that 
 "priests, monks, and nuns, and even bishops, and many of the most distin- 
 guished prelates, had caught the infection. . . . Excepting the common 
 herd, all have fallen away."
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 163 
 
 locality had its grievances and its remedies to propose, the 
 clergy being the chief object of attack. But an unexpected 
 turn was given to the course of events by the constituency of 
 the Isle of France, who suggested the propriety of making 
 those court favorites disgorge, who had been enriched by the 
 prodigality of former reigns.* The idea of being called upon 
 to restore his ill-gotten gains alarmed Montmorency, not only 
 for himself but for his son, who had married a daughter of 
 the notorious Diana of Poitiers. He was also offended by 
 the Huguenot opinions of his nephews, the Chatillons, and 
 the favor shown them by the queen-mother. In such a state 
 of mind' it needed bu little persuasion on the part of Diana 
 fit instrument for such a scheme to reconcile the consta- 
 ble with the Lorraines. A common danger drew them close 
 together, and that fatal TRIUMVIRATE was formed which 
 brought so much evil upon France, f In token of reconcilia- 
 tion, and as a pledge of mutual support, Montmorency, the 
 Duke of Guise, and Marshal St. Andre took the sacrament to- 
 gether. The constable, who feared that a religious would 
 lead to a political change, carried the whole weight of his in- 
 fluence to the Catholic side, toward which the King of Na- 
 varre was gradually inclining. His brother Conde, aided by 
 Colighy, alone resisted the violent proposals of the Romish 
 party, and advocated the assembling of a national council to 
 arrange the religious differences, in which course they were 
 supported by petitions from the Huguenots too numerous to 
 be neglected. To gratify so just a request, a meeting of the 
 clergy was summoned, at which a number of Protestant di- 
 vines were to appear to explain and defend their doctrine. 
 
 In the interval came the meeting of the States of Pontoise 
 (17th August, 1561), and their first step was to confirm the 
 minutes of the Orleans meeting. The chancellor, who had 
 
 
 
 * The queeiuinothcr was specially exceptcd. 
 
 f There were actually six confederates, the three others being Cardinal 
 Tournon, Marshal Brissac, and M. dc Montpensier. Chantonnay to Phil- 
 ip II., 9th April, 1561 ; Bouille, ii. 132.
 
 164 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 grown in wisdom and toleration, said in his opening speech : 
 " I do not understand those who desire to exclude the new 
 religion from the kingdom to issue edict after edict against 
 it. Our only concern is, to learn whether the interests of. the 
 state are best served by the permission, or by the prohibition 
 of the meetings of the Calvinists. To decide this, we need 
 not inquire into their doctrine ; for supposing the Reformed 
 religion to be bad, is that a sufficient reason for proscribing 
 its professors ? Is it not possible to be a good subject with- 
 out being a Catholic or even a Christian? Can not fellow- 
 citizens, differing in religious opinions, still live in harmony ? 
 We have met not to establish articles of faith, but to regulate 
 the state." 
 
 The orator of the nobility demanded, with the almost 
 unanimous consent of the order, that all religious controversies 
 should be decided in conformity with Holy Scripture ; * that 
 heresy should no longer be considered an offense against the 
 state; and that the Apostles' and the Athanasian Creeds 
 should be the only test of orthodoxy. The nobles also called 
 for reforms in the judicature and in the government, but their 
 scope belongs rather to the political than the religious history 
 of the times. 
 
 The orator of the Tiers Etat demanded still greater changes : 
 such as a national council, under the royal presidency, in 
 which all the controverted questions should be decided by 
 the Word of God ; and a cessation of persecution, on the 
 ground that it was unreasonable to force any man to do what 
 his conscience condemned. The Third Estate farther pro- 
 posed that cardinals and bishops should be disqualified for 
 seats in the royal council ; that the States-General should be 
 convened every two years ; and that the Reformed should en- 
 joy full liberty of worship, either in the existing churches, or 
 in such as they might build for themselves. "As both relig- 
 ions have the same foundation," said one speaker, " there is 
 
 * "Tons articles . . . soient decides et resolus par la senle parole de 
 Dieu." Bibl. Impe'r. 8927, Etats de Pontoisc.
 
 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 165 
 
 no reason why they should hate and persecute one another. 
 Perseverance in penal enactments will kindle a fire which no 
 power under heaven can extinguish. " After suggesting vari- 
 ous ecclesiastical reforms, he continued : " If the king wants 
 money, let him do as they have done in Germany and England 
 take the money that makes the Church luxurious. One- 
 third of what it possesses is enough for its wants. The peo- 
 ple are ruined and can pay no more taxes." The idea of pay- 
 ing their debts and getting rich by seizing the property of the 
 clergy pleased even the orthodox ; but the churchmen caught 
 the alarm, and set every engine at work to ward off the threat- 
 ened blow. The property of the Church was valued at one 
 hundred and twenty millions. Out of this it was proposed to 
 allot forty-eight millions, which would produce a revenue of 
 four millions for the clergy, and which, men argued, was quite 
 ample for their support. Forty-two millions were to be appro- 
 priated to the payment of the debt, and the balance of thirty 
 millions would, if judiciously distributed in loans among the 
 chief cities of France, develop trade and increase the general 
 wealth of the country, while the interest would suffice to pay 
 the army and keep the fortresses in repair. To carry out 
 such a sweeping confiscation required a strong government* 
 and then it could be done only at the risk of a revolution ; 
 but the very proposal made the clergy more willing to take 
 their share of the public burdens, and they offered not only 
 to redeem at their own cost all the royal domains pawned or 
 mortgaged by the crown, but to pay annually for six years a 
 tribute of sixteen hundred thousand livres. The queen-regent 
 having thus obtained the necessary supplies, and a promise of 
 more, the popular demands (with a few trivial exceptions) 
 were evaded, but liberty of conscience was promised. If the 
 meetings at Orleans and Pontoise did not effect much good, 
 they materially promoted the interests of the Huguenots by 
 recognizing the great principle of toleration, though more 
 than two centuries were to pass away before it was fully car- 
 ried out.
 
 166 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 As soon as the meetings at Pontoise were ended, all eyes 
 were turned to the approaching colloquy to be held at Poissy. 
 The clergy, in return for their liberal contribution toward the 
 burdens of the state, had called for the thorough execution of 
 the Edict of July. "JVon impetrarunt" says Beza laconical- 
 ly. The regent took the money, but answered their prayer in 
 very vague terms. What she really thought of the matters in 
 dispute between the two religious parties may be gathered 
 from her instructions to Cardinal Ferrara to be laid before the 
 pope (4th August, 1561) : "The number of those professing 
 the Reformed religion is so great, and their party is so pow- 
 erful, that they are no longer to be put down by severe laws 
 or force of arms. They are neither anabaptists nor libertines ; 
 they believe all the articles of the Apostles' Creed, and there- 
 fore many are of opinion that they ought not to be cut off 
 from communion with the Church. What danger can there be 
 in removing the images from the churches, and doing away 
 with certain useless forms in the administration of the sacra- 
 ments ? It would farther be advantageous to allow to all per- 
 sons the communion under both kinds, and to permit divine 
 worship to be celebrated in the vulgar tongue." * 
 
 How far Catherine was sincere in her letter to Cardinal Fer- 
 rara is hardly a question for those who hold her to have been 
 always more influenced by policy than by principle. She was 
 sincere, when it served her purpose to be so. Long before 
 the Triumvirate that precursor of the League took a defi- 
 nite form, she had seen the necessity of uniting with the Hu- 
 guenots, in order to counterbalance the Lorraine party. It was 
 this that made her write to the pope ; that made her pretend 
 to entertain Calvinistic ideas ; in short, that made her deceive 
 both parties. Without entirely adopting the views of Davila 
 
 *" Audio Reginam curasse scribi formam emendationis ecclesiarum." 
 Languet (llth December, 1561), Epist. ii. 184. Also Chantonnay (22d 
 January, 1561): " Aussi vcrrez-vous un disconrs quo Ton seme faussemcnt 
 avoir etc envoye par la Reine nu Tape." He hints that it was written 
 by Montluc, Bishop of Valence, " pour (sous pretexte de piete') seiner In 
 fausse doctrine." Mem de Conde, ii. 20.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 167 
 
 (at the end of his 2d book), we agree in his conclusion, that 
 " she deceived not only simple people, but the craftiest and 
 most skillful also." 
 
 Whatever may have been Catherine's motives, the pope 
 would not yield an inch ; he wrote to encourage the Catholic 
 party to resistance. Meanwhile Chancellor de 1'llopital was 
 addressing the Calvinists of Geneva, praising in the king's 
 name in reality according to the queen-mother's instructions 
 the purity of their motives and the rectitude of their prin- 
 ciples, and exhorting them to restrain " the malice of certain 
 preachers and dogmatizers who abuse the name and purity of 
 the religion which they profess, by sowing in the minds of 
 the king's subjects a damnable disobedience, not only by their 
 libels and slanders, but by their sermons." * 
 
 It was under such circumstances and in accordance with 
 the promise made in the Edict of July, that the celebrated 
 colloquy of Poissy was held, in September, 1561. On both 
 sides great preparations had been made for the grand dis- 
 cussion; and in order to counterbalance the eloquence and 
 skill of the Catholic party, Calvin, Beza, Peter Martyr,f and 
 other ministers were invited, under safe conduct, from Switz- 
 erland. Calvin did not answer to the appeal, but the Prot- 
 estants had no cause to regret his absence, for Theodore Beza 
 was altogether a fitter person, for such an occasion. Beza was 
 a man of noble birth and a ripe scholar ; he had seen 
 much of courts, and in the fashionable society of Paris had 
 acquired a remarkable grace of manner. He was converted 
 by a serious illness : " As soon as I could leave my bed," he 
 
 * Alberi : Vita di Cuterina de' Medici (Fircnze, 1838), p. 291. Sec also 
 letter in Bayle's Dictionary, art. Marot, dated 26th August, 135!). 
 
 t Calvin writes to P. Martyr: "Audio quidcm Regis mntrem ita esso tni 
 audiencli cupidam." 17th August, 1561. Baum's Theodor Beza, ii. p. 40, 
 App. Peter Martyr, who had a great reputation for eloquence, waited upon 
 Catherine as soon as he reached Paris. After a long and friendly inter- 
 view she dismissed him saying: "Quod deinceps snepius mecum sed secreto 
 colloquivcllet." P. Martyr Scnatui Turicensi, 12th September, 1561. Ibid. 
 p. 63.
 
 168 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 told his friend and tutor, Melchior Wolmar, "I broke all 
 ray chains and went into voluntary exile with my wife to fol- 
 low Christ." At Geneva, he was nominated professor of the- 
 ology, and ordained to the ministry ; and became so strongly 
 attached to Calvin that he scarcely ever left him. His ap- 
 pearance was a recommendation, being a handsome man of 
 middle stature and pleasing address. On the 23d August, 
 the day after his arrival at St. Germain's, he preached before 
 the court in Conde's apartment, and was summoned at mid- 
 night to a private conference in the drawing-room of the 
 Queen of Navarre,* where he was graciously received by the 
 queen-mother, the Cardinals of Lorraine and Bourbon, and 
 others. Catherine asked him many questions about Calvin's 
 health, age, and occupations. The Cardinal of Lorraine, after 
 some well-turned compliments, declared that the difference in 
 the Christian churches on transubstantiation and consubstan- 
 tiation were not in his opinion a sufficient cause of schism. 
 Beza replied : " We hold the bread to be the sacramental body, 
 and we define sacramentaliter by maintaining, that though 
 the body be now in heaven and nowhere else, and the signs 
 on earth with us, yet it is as truly given and received by us, 
 through faith in eternal life, as the sign is given naturally by 
 the hands." The cardinal, turning to the queen-mother, ob- 
 served : " Such is my belief, madam, and I am satisfied." 
 Beza took advantage of this unexpected concession to add, 
 "And these are the Sacramentarians who have been so long 
 and so cruelly persecuted and slandered." 
 
 Early on the morning of the 9th of September, 1561, Beza 
 left St. Germain's for Poissy (a small town about four leagues 
 from Paris), escorted by a brilliant train of gentlemen, among 
 whom must have been many of his old friends. f The mem- 
 
 * Be/c a M. d'Espeville, 25th August, 1561 ; Baum's Theodor Beza, ii. 
 p. 45, Append. There is a. Latin copy of this letter which differs in several 
 respects from the French. 
 
 t Beza tolls us that his escort numbered a hundred horsemen, and thnt 
 the Duke of Guise received him "vultu quam maxime potuit nd humani-
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 169 
 
 bers of the council, or colloquy as it was termed, in order not 
 to wound, the susceptibility of the papal court, assembled in 
 the refectory of the great convent. The king, then only 
 eleven years of age, presided, and around him were gathered 
 the princes of the blood royal, with the officers and ladies of 
 the court. On the two sides of the hall were ranged, according 
 to their rank, six cardinals with archbishops and bishops to 
 the number of forty and more, besides a vast array of doctors 
 and lawyers who accompanied these prelates, all in scarlet or 
 purple robes. Along the lower part of the room ran a bar, 
 but the space beyond it was empty, the Protestants not being 
 as yet 'admitted into the presence of the king. Charles IX. 
 opened the proceedings by reading a formal speech, in which 
 he said that he hoped " they would inquire into the things 
 necessary to be reformed, without passion or prejudice, but 
 solely for God's honor, the discharge of their consciences, and 
 the public peace." ..." What I desire," he continued, " is 
 that you will not separate until you have put matters into 
 such good order that my subjects may live together in peace 
 and unity."* He was followed by Chancellor de 1'Hopital, 
 who, by the king's express order, kept his seat while speaking. 
 After a formal explanatory introduction he went on, " I cau- 
 tion you against subtle and curious questions that lead to 
 nothing. We do not require many books, but only to under- 
 stand thoroughly the Word of God, and to live in conformity 
 with it as well as we can. The ministers of the new sect have 
 been invited hither by his majesty to confer with you. I 
 pray you receive them as a father receives his children, and 
 graciously teach and instruct them, so that they can not here- 
 after say, they were condemned unheard." 
 
 After some little discussion on the chancellor's speech, 
 which had offended the Cardinal de Tournon by its liberality, 
 
 tatem composite." Beza Calvino, 12th September, 1561, Baum. ii. p. 60, 
 App. 
 
 * Chantonnay's dispatch confirms this. He says that the king and the 
 chancellor " ne bougeraient de la, quo 1'on n'eut tronve ordre pour apaiser 
 les tumultes de ce royaume." Mem. de Conde, ii. 1C.
 
 170 MASS ACHE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 the Huguenots were introduced into the chamber. They 
 were thirty-three in number, eleven ministers and twenty- 
 two lay deputies * from the Calvinistic churches. Immediate- 
 ly on entering the hall they knelt down in homage to the 
 king, and taking advantage of that position, Beza implored 
 the Divine blessing upon the assembly. As they stood below 
 the bar at the lower end of the room, their homely dark dress- 
 es formed a striking contrast to the silks and furs, and gold 
 and bright colors of the dignitaries of the Romish Church, 
 who sat on the two sides of the hall. 
 
 Standing a little in front of his colleagues, Beza proceeded 
 to explain the articles of the faith held by himself and his 
 brethren. His speech, which presents few salient points for 
 modern readers, was a remarkable mixture of address, wis- 
 dom, and Scripture. He had gained the ear of an unwilling 
 audience, and was listened to with many marks of approval, 
 until he came to the doctrine of the Eucharist. He admitted 
 (as we have already seen) the spiritual presence of Christ, 
 but qualified it thus: "We say that his body is as remote 
 from the bread and wine, as heaven is from earth." f This 
 so startled the Romish prelates, " that they began to murmur 
 and make a great noise," J calling him a " blasphemer." Beza, 
 
 * Some historians reckon twelve ministers and a score of lay delegates ; 
 but the difference is unimportant. Besides Beza and Peter Martyr there 
 were present Viret, Marlorat and Jean Malo, ex-priests, Reimond, and oth- 
 ers. 
 
 fBeza afterward found it necessary to explain himself more fully upon 
 this point in a letter to the queen-mother : " II y a grande difference de dire 
 que Jesus-Christ est present en la Sainte Gene, en tant qu'il nous y donne 
 veritablement son corps et son sang ; et de dire que son corps et son sang 
 sont conjoints avec le pain et le vin. J'ai confesse le premier, j'ai nie' le 
 dernier. " 
 
 J " Adeo exasperati atque exacerbati sunt, ut proruperint: Blasphemavit, 
 blasphemavit Deum!" Struckius ad Hubertum, 18th September, 1561; 
 IJaum ii. p. 66, App. Catherine, writing to the Bishop of Rcnnes, em- 
 bassador to the emperor, complains of Beza's speech: "Etant enfin 
 tombe sur le fait de la Cene il s'oublia en une comparaison si absurde et 
 tant offensive des oreilles de ^'assistance, que pen s'en fallutqueje no lui 
 imposassc silence." (14th September, 1561.)
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 171 
 
 however, took no notice of it, but continued his address, wind- 
 ing up by a statement of their doctrines on the obedience 
 due to the king, appealing to their writings, to the condition 
 of the Protestant states in Germany, and to Scripture. Such 
 a defense would appear unnecessary in these days ; but the 
 orthodox constantly maintained that those who were rebels 
 against the Church were also and necessarily rebels against 
 the State. After a week's adjournment the prelates, through 
 their mouth-piece, the Cardinal of Lorraine, put in a reply to 
 Beza's statement, but would allow of no discussion except 
 upon two points : the authority of the Church in matters of 
 faith 'and the Real Presence. Beza offered to reply imme- 
 diately, but the court rose, and when the turn of the Hugue- 
 not champion came, he spoke not so much with the hope of 
 converting his antagonists as of softening them.* After his 
 speech the public proceedings were discontinued, as the dis- 
 cussion was becoming unpopular ; but at the suggestion of 
 the queen-mother, several private conferences were held, at 
 one of which a monk named Saintes maintained " that tra- 
 dition was based on a firmer and surer foundation than Script- 
 ure ;" and at another, the Jesuit Lainez, to the great scandal 
 of all present, called the ministers " wolves, foxes, serpents, 
 and assassins," and declared that " women and soldiers could 
 be no judges of points of faith." The Reformed delegates 
 put in a declaration on the Lord's Supper, which the bishops 
 rejected as heretical ; and presenting a counter confession of 
 their own, called upon the queen-mother to " compel the Hu- 
 guenots to accept it, or else exterminate them, for France is a 
 country that has never put up with heresy." Catherine, how- 
 ever, did not yield, but sharply charged them with a perverse 
 desire to prolong the disturbances of the kingdom. The Mod- 
 erate party still clung to the hope of reconciliation, and at a 
 later meeting the chancellor boldly said : " The State and 
 Church are two things, not one. A man may be a good sub- 
 
 *"Ut saltern sequiores nobis liant." Beza Calvino, 27th September, 
 15G1.
 
 172 MASSACRE OP ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 ject, though a bad Christian. You may excommunicate a 
 man, but he is still a citizen." L'Hopital was too far in ad- 
 vance of his age.* 
 
 Catherine appears to have acted in a straightforward man- 
 ner during the colloquy ; and, when the members had separa- 
 ted, she did not relax in her exertions to arrive at an accept- 
 able compromise. She suggested that the French bishops 
 should present an address to the king, praying him to move 
 the pope to permit the marriage of priests and the communion 
 in both kinds. They did so, and Pius IV. replied that he had 
 always held these changes to be right and fair, for which he 
 had been taunted with Lutheranism at the last conclave ; but 
 he could do nothing without the cardinals, who would not 
 consent, f Writing to the embassador at the imperial court 
 (16th February, 1562), the queen-regent complains of the time 
 spent in " idle disputes ;" and in a letter to De Lisle, his envoy 
 at Rome, Charles defends what had been done at Poissy, on 
 the ground that it was impossible to carry out the existing 
 edicts ; " I therefore resolved," he says, " to leave my kingdom 
 no longer in a confusion, which became greater the more the 
 remedy was deferred." The government, enlightened by what 
 had taken place in -Germany and Switzerland, began to look 
 upon Protestantism as a barrier against anarchy. Minds that 
 had left the safe anchorage of the Church of Rome were drift- 
 ing to and fro, and the only resting-place against the torrent 
 which had hurried so many into the errors of anabaptism was 
 the creed of Luther and of Calvin. Heresy was better than 
 a revival of the excesses of Munster. J 
 
 *His orthodoxy was suspected. "Homo quidem doctus, sed nullius rc- 
 ligionis, tit vere dicam aQtos" Belcnrius : Her. Gall. Comment, p. 937. II 
 cancelliere che e scoperto nemico delta religione cattolica. " Tommaseo, i. 
 530. 
 
 t De Lisle to the king, Gth November, 1561 . Mem pour k Conci/e de Trente 
 (4toed.), p. 110. 
 
 J " Una gran parte del popolo crede a costoro talmentc che col mezzo loro 
 si potranno ridurrc alia via buona, come che altrimente siano per diventare 
 Anabatisti o peggio." Santa Croce to Cardinal Borromeo.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 173 
 
 During the colloquy a synod was held, at which the imprac- 
 ticable temper of the Huguenot pastors was forcibly shown by 
 a memoir they drew up, demanding " the exclusion of women 
 from the government of the state, and the establishment of a 
 legitimate regency ;" thus alienating the queen-mother, who 
 was drawing nearer to them every day. They also called for 
 severe measures against " infidels, libertines, and atheists ;" like 
 some modern patriots, who love liberty so much that they would 
 keep it all for themselves. 
 
 Although the colloquy came to nothing, the actual result 
 was a victory to the Huguenots by clearing their character 
 fronl the many aspersions cast upon it. They had shown that 
 they were not disloyal subjects, and were not in the habit of 
 practicing infamous crimes ; and their faith spread so rapidly 
 in consequence, that the demand for pastors to preside over 
 the new congregations was greater than the Swiss churches 
 could supply. The countenance of the court gave them bold- 
 ness. During the sittings at Poissy they assembled by thou- 
 sands outside the walls of Paris to listen to Beza, whose ene- 
 mies have computed his hearers at 8000, and whose friends at 
 50,000.* The smaller number appears quite large enough for 
 any voice to reach in the open air. Necessity very early com- 
 pelled these congregations to assume a sort of military forma- 
 tion. The women and children were placed in the centre near- 
 est the preacher ; behind them stood the men on foot, next 
 came the men on horseback, and outside all were ranged arm- 
 ed men, soldiers or arquebusiers, to protect the unarmed 
 crowd. As Paris was particularly lawless, Conde collected 
 a volunteer guard of about 400 gentlemen, to whom were add- 
 ed 300 old soldiers under Andelot, with 300 students and as 
 
 * Vie de Co/iyny, p. 242 ; La None, p. 350 (Engl. transl.). Pasquier writes 
 of 8000 and 9000 assembling in October, and of an "incredible concourse." 
 Lettres, p. 233. Languet speaks of 12,000 to 13,000 present at a sermon 
 in Orleans (Arcana Secreta, Ep.lv.); in Ep. Ixii. he describes a meeting at 
 which he was present: "non ducenti aut trecenti, sed duo, tria, et inter- 
 dnm novem aut decem millia .... hodie vero cxistimo non pauciorcs 
 15,000 interfuisse." p. 155.
 
 174 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 many citizens. Certainly no public worship was safe Avithout 
 some such precautions, but the wisdom of such a display of 
 force, when private worship was possible, is open to doubt. 
 
 From a list presented to the queen-mother about this time 
 by Coligny, it would seem that there were more than 2000 Re- 
 formed and organized churches in France. Some have calcu- 
 lated the Huguenots to number one-half of the population, 
 while the least sanguine reckoned them at one-tenth. The 
 Chancellor 1'Hopital estimated that " a fourth part of the king- 
 dom was separated from the communion of the Church/' 
 This part, he adds, " consists of gentlemen, of the principal cit- 
 izens, and of such members of the poorer sort as have seen the 
 world and are accustomed to bear arms. They have with 
 them more than three-fourths of the men of letters, and a great 
 proportion of the large and good houses, both of the nobility 
 and third estate, being on their side, they do not want money 
 to carry on their affairs." * To the same effect wrote Castel- 
 nau ; and Micheli, the Venetian embassador, one of the shrewd- 
 est of observers, declared that there was no province of France 
 untainted by Protestantism ; and that Normandy and Brittany, 
 Gascony and Languedoc, Poitou and Touraine, Provence and 
 Dauphiny comprising three-fourths of the kingdom - Avere 
 full of it. " In many provinces," he says, " meetings are held, 
 sermons preached, and rules of life adopted, entirely in accord- 
 ance with the example of Geneva, and Avithout any regard to 
 the royal prohibition. Every one has embraced these opin- 
 ions, and, what is most remarkable, even the religious body, 
 not only priests, monks, and nuns very few of the convents 
 ha\'e escaped the infection but even the bishops and many of 
 the most distinguished prelates. . . . Your highness (the 
 
 * After the massacre of Vassy (February, 15G2), Conde' offered the queen- 
 mother the support of 2150 Reformed churches. Montfau9on, ^fonumens 
 de la Monarchic, fol. 1733, v. p. 109. In 1598, the date of the Edict of Nantes, 
 it was calculated that there were in France G94 public chapels and 257 
 private, over which 2800 ministers and 400 curates presided: There were 
 274,000 families, making about 1,250,000 souls, and of those families 24C8 
 were noble. In 1561 there may have been 250,000 more.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 175 
 
 Doge) may be assured that, excepting the common people, 
 who still zealously frequent the churches, all have fallen away. 
 The nobles most especially, the men under forty almost with- 
 out exception ; for although many of them still go to mass, it 
 is only from regard to appearances and through fear. When 
 they are sure to be unobserved, they shun both mass and 
 church." * He considered it indispensable that religious free- 
 dom at least an " interim" as he called it should be accord- 
 ed to the French Protestants, if. they would avoid a general 
 Avar. 
 
 Catherine and the least fanatical portion of her advisers 
 saw elearly enough that a compromise was necessary. 
 Though greatly disappointed, at the result of the Poissy confer- 
 ence, she recognized the necessity of moderation, and had 
 called upon the chiefs of the Huguenots to assist her by restor- 
 ing the churches which their followers had seized for their 
 religious services. She then gave them tacit permission to 
 assemble to the number of five hundred f in places appointed 
 for that purpose, forbidding them at the same time to wear 
 arms, or to indulge in irritating language. J In Paris, the num- 
 ber who could meet together was limited to two hundred, and 
 that in private. But the question of toleration or persecu^ 
 tion was too important to be settled in this irregular fashion, 
 and the queen-regent summoned an assembly of Notables, 
 composed of the ordinary members of the Privy Council, 
 with two delegates from each parliament in the kingdom, to 
 advise with her on what had become a matter of high state 
 policy. 
 
 The fanatical Romish party were by no means pleased 
 
 * "Maxima nobilium parte ad eos accedentc ndeo ut coctus Calvinista- 
 rum magna frequentia omnibus prope et nobilissimis quidem regni urbibus 
 habebantur palam." Eytzinger : Leo Belg. p. 25 (anno 1560). 
 
 tBeza Calvino, 23d October, 1561 ; in Baum : Leben Besas, p. 210. 
 
 J Castelnau, p. 68. 
 
 Baum (30th October, 1501), p. 117. Languet writes (26th October, 
 1561). "Dummodononplurcsqnam 200 conveniant, ct sine armis." Arc. 
 Seer. ii. p. 153.
 
 176 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 with these tolerant symptoms in the court and government ; 
 and finding their power and influence diminishing every day, 
 they began to look about them for foreign help. In their 
 perplexity they naturally turned to the pope and the King of 
 Spain ; and there is a story of a petition, emanating from the 
 Cardinal of Lorraine and certain doctors of the Sorbonne, 
 imploring Philip II. to aid the Church of France against the 
 heretics, on the ground that he was the mightiest and most 
 religious of princes. The petition never reached its destina- 
 tion in consequence of its bearer, a priest, being arrested and 
 compelled to give it up. The story is not well authenticated, 
 but there is evidence enough without it to show that the 
 Guises and a part of the French clergy Avere engaged in a 
 treasonable correspondence. Supported by this correspond- 
 ence, the King of Spain took a high tone in his letters to the 
 queen-regent, blaming her for holding the colloquy atPoissy, 
 and condemning the mere idea of a national council. He 
 said bluntly that all heretics ought to be punished without 
 respect of persons, and added that if she failed in her duty, 
 he was determined to sacrifice every thing, even his life, to 
 check the progress of the pestilence, which was equally 
 "threatening to France and to Spain. The Spanish embassa- 
 dor Chantonnay, whom Anquetil describes as " acting the 
 part of a French minister of state," scarcely w r rote a letter 
 to his royal master in which he did not denounce Catherine's 
 favor to the Protestants. As it was Philip's interest to keep 
 France in a disturbed state, he naturally courted the Guise 
 faction, promising them both men and money, but not willing 
 tt) give either very liberally. Secret as were their manoauvres, 
 they did not escape Catherine's vigilance, and to prevent 
 any violent outbreak she disarmed the populace of Paris.* 
 
 * Admodum severe nunc cxequuntur edictum de usu armorum interdicto. 1 ' 
 Languet (26th October, 1561) : Arc. Seer. ii. p. 153. The Huguenots were 
 allowed to retain their arms: " Sotto pretesto che non nvrcbbe a segnir 
 qualche scdttione .... gli Ugonotti la portassero per sicurta sun." Bar- 
 baro : Re/aziotte, 1 5G4.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 177 
 
 Catherine became more unpopular every day among the 
 extreme Romanists, and the discontent with her policy became 
 general : many of the nobility remonstrated with her for her 
 toleration, and the monks gladly seized the opportunity of 
 arousing the fanaticism of the populace. One of these 
 tonsured preachers of sedition actually exhorted the citizens of 
 Paris not to permit the watch, who were paid by them, to 
 protect the heretics. The violence of the Romish clergy 
 especially of the regulars at this time, can hardly be exagger- 
 ated. Simon Vigor,* whose sermons are still extant, spoke 
 thus ferociously from his pulpit : " Our nobility will not 
 strike. .- . . Is it not very cruel, they say, to draw the sword 
 against one's uncle or father? . . . Come now, which is 
 nearest and dearest to you, your Catholic and Christian broth- 
 er or your carnal Huguenot brother ? The spiritual affinity or 
 relationship is much higher than the carnal, and therefore I 
 tell you that since you will not strike the Huguenots, you 
 have no religion. Accordingly some morning God will exe- 
 cute justice, and permit this bastard nobility to be trodden 
 down by the commonalty. I do not say that it ought to 
 be done, but that God will permit it to be done."f The 
 garrulous Claude Ilaton declares 4hat Vigor far surpassed 
 all others in violence, and gives an outline of a sermon in 
 which lie accused the king's government of favoring Hu- 
 guenotry, and "destroying the Church of Christ." Claude 
 de Sainctes, who was in the household of the Cardinal of 
 Lorraine, declared in one of his writings, "that if the fires 
 which had been lighted up in France for the destruction of 
 Calvinism had not been extinguished, that sect would not 
 have spread."J 
 
 This incendiary language produced the intended effect, 
 
 * "Calvinistis infestissimo doctorc." Sanctcsius: Resp. ad Apoloy. Bezcc 
 (up. Lannoium, Hist. (,'ym. Navarrce, p. 770). 
 
 ^Sermon cath. sur les JJimanches, ii. p. 25. This sermon, though actually 
 of a later dnte, is a fair specimen of the style of the day. 
 
 t Sanctcsins: Ad Edicta vet. princ. de Licentia Sect. 15G1. 
 
 M
 
 178 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 and the whole kingdom became the theatre of frightful dis- 
 orders. At Cahors the tocsin called the people to arms (26th 
 December, 1561). The Catholics shut up the Huguenots in 
 their place of meeting and then set fire to it. As the poor 
 wretches forced their way through the flames, they were 
 struck down by the pikes and swords of the savage crowd. 
 Similar disturbances occurred in other parts of France at 
 Pamiers, Dijon, Troyes, Amiens, Abbeville, Tours, Bordeaux, 
 Montpellier, Marseilles the Roman Catholics being deter- 
 mined to prevent all assemblies that were not authorized by 
 edict. Fran9ois Channeil and Louis de Brezous, accompanied 
 by 600 horse and foot, entered Aurillac, and shutting the gates 
 so that none might escape, began to fire upon the inhabitants, 
 killing one of their own number. Many Protestants were 
 thus murdered. The soldiers hanged without trial a book-sell- 
 er and a hosier, who died bravely singing the 2 Jth Psalm to the 
 last moment : 
 
 God is my strong salvation, 
 What foe have I to fear ? 
 
 In darkness and temptation 
 My light, my help is near. 
 
 It was impossible that such " lynch-law " violence could have 
 any permanent repressive effect upon men who felt that 
 "persecution was the ladder by which they were to reach 
 heaven." * The Huguenot was not likely to be less fervent 
 than the Mahometan, who looks upon the sword of his enemv 
 as the key to Paradise. 
 
 There were perhaps few cities where the magistrates show- 
 ed so much good sense as at Amiens in adopting vigorous 
 measures to preserve peace between both religious parties. 
 About four years before this time the heretics in that city were 
 estimated at 500, a body too numerous to be openly -molested. 
 The monks, therefore, organized processions of children be- 
 tween the ages of eight and twelve, and these to the number 
 
 * Complainte apolojetique an Rol. p. 288.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 179 
 
 of 200 paraded the streets at night with toy crosses and ban- 
 ners, halting from time to time and singing the Ave Maria at 
 certain doors, according as their leader, a man bearing a sword, 
 directed them : " Sing, children, sing, in spite of the Hugue- 
 nots." The Jacobin preachers used their pulpits as instruments 
 of sedition, employing language that could hardly fail to lead 
 to rioting. Indeed (to anticipate our narrative), on the 7th and 
 8th of December, 1561, the tocsin was rung, the Catholics fell 
 upon the Huguenots as they were returning from divine wor- 
 ship, wounded many, and maltreated some of the civic officers 
 and others who had come to help the weaker party. It was 
 in consequence of these and similar outbreaks that the magis- 
 trates, in order to prevent the mere possibility of rioting, inter- 
 fered so far with individual liberty as to forbid the inhabitants 
 to assemble in the streets to the number of more than four, or 
 to leave their houses after curfew, to carry arms, to discuss the 
 sermons, or to call each other names, such as " Huguenots, 
 Lutherans, papists, hypocrites, and caffards," under pain of 
 death. Still the magistrates were not in the least inclined to 
 tolerate heterodoxy, for they went on to prohibit assemblies 
 either in the city or without, for the purpose of preaching, 
 reading, or psalm-singing, contrary to the practice of the 
 Church.* Although the Catholic party appears to have be- 
 come stronger in the municipal body, still their measures in- 
 clined to tolerance. On the 22d May, 1562, the ministers were 
 ordered to leave the city within three days, and school-masters 
 were forbidden to teach the new doctrine to their pupils. Five 
 days later we find the Notables assembled to devise means for 
 compelling some eighteen or twenty Huguenots to decorate 
 their houses for the procession of the Holy Sacrament, with a 
 view " to avoid any demonstration of feeling on the part of the 
 people, who would be scandalized by any want of reverence." 
 The men were summoned before them, and consented under 
 protest to adorn their windows. " They pleaded their con- 
 
 * Thierry : Recueil des Mpnumens incd. de tllist. du Tiers Etat, ii.'p. 683 
 (4to. Paris).
 
 180 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 science," says the register ; " and when they were asked how 
 that could be wounded by such an act, they refused to give 
 any explanation." * The men, however, did not keep their word, 
 and were sent to prison. A proclamation was then issued or- 
 dering all persons to decorate their houses under pain of be- 
 ing fined twenty livres parisis ; but this had so little effect that, 
 the very next Sunday, two hundred and sixty persons refused 
 to comply with the order. 
 
 Although the liberal-minded Christians of our days may 
 think these Amiens Reformers overscrupulous, we are hardly 
 in position to blame them. They looked upon the procession 
 of the Corpus Christi as an act of idolatrous worship, and to 
 hang tapestry on the walls of their houses was indirectly to 
 countenance the idolatry. It is not very long ago that a sim- 
 ilar argument was urged in the House of Commons against 
 the turning-out of the guard at Malta when the host was car- 
 ried past the guard-house. 
 
 But the Huguenots were almost as turbulent as the Roman- 
 ists : in many places they had become strong enough to defy 
 the penal laws passed against them. They seized upon the 
 churches, drove the monks from their convents, made bonfires 
 of the crosses, images, and relics, and demanded an enlarge- 
 ment of their privileges. During the procession of the Fete 
 Dieu at Lyons (5th June, 1561) a Huguenot tried to snatch 
 the host out of the priest's hand. There was an instant riot : 
 " Down with the heretics ! To the Rhone with them !" was the 
 cry. Many were drowned, and the principal of the college of 
 the Trinity was dragged a corpse through the streets. In all 
 times of excitement there are hot-headed partisans who add 
 to the confusion and thwart the exertions of those who are 
 inclined to conciliatory measures. The early Reformed Church 
 was not without them : each Protestant country had its icon- 
 oclasts. These indiscreet Reformers were the dread of the 
 moderate Beza: "I fear our friends more than our enemies," 
 
 * Thierry : Tiers Etat, ii. p. 712.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 181 
 
 he wrote.* After receiving intelligence of an outrage at 
 Montpellier he said that, if he were judge, he would punish 
 those " madmen " with extreme severity.f And in a letter to 
 Calvin he says (18th January, 1562): "You will scarcely be- 
 lieve how intemperate our people are, as if they wanted to 
 rival our enemies in impatience." It was necessary to do 
 something, for the two parties were coming into collision, 
 and blood had been shed not only in Paris, the head-quarters 
 of orthodoxy, but in other parts of the country. 
 
 One day the populace of the capital having insulted the Hu- 
 guenots as they were returning from divine service, the gen- 
 tlemen of the Reform resolved to be present at the next meet- 
 ing to the number of 2000 horsemen, with the intention, if the 
 insult should be repeated, of seizing upon the adjoining 
 churches and expelling the monks. There were frequent con- 
 flicts in the city, and in one of them, known as the riot of St. 
 Medard, both parties were equally violent and equally guilty. 
 It appears that, on St. John's Day, the priests of the Church 
 of St. Medard, in the southern suburb beyond the Avails, rang the 
 bells in their belfry to drown the voice of the Huguenot preach- 
 ing in an adjoining house. The congregation remonstrated, and 
 one of their number was fired on and killed. The Huguenots 
 drew their swords directly. Andelot entered the Church on 
 horseback, and in the struggle that followed fifty persons were 
 killed and wounded. The riot was renewed the next day by 
 the Catholics, who broke into the house where the Protest- 
 ants used to worship, and burned it to the ground after smash- 
 ing the pulpit and benches to pieces. The matter was taken 
 up by the Parliament of Paris, and the next year (1562), at the 
 close of a procession to expiate the profanation of the church, 
 a great number of citizens suspected of heresy were hanged 
 or drowned without trial, among them being the captain of the 
 
 * "Nostros potius quam adversaries metuo." (4th Nov. 1561). Baum's 
 Beza. 
 
 . t"Mc non minus severe in rabiosos istos impetus vindicaturum." Ibid. 
 ii. Anhang, 129.
 
 182 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 watch* and some archers whose only crime was that they had 
 not stopped the riot. They were pelted by the children, and 
 " if they had possessed a hundred lives all would have been 
 taken, the people were so exasperated." The corpses of the 
 poor wretches were seized by some fanatics, who dragged 
 them through the streets and then flung them into the river.f 
 The nuncio Santa Croce wrote to the court of Rome : " Some 
 Huguenots are put to death every day. Yesterday, four of 
 those who committed such sacrilege in the Church of St. Me- 
 dard were burned, and to-day they are preparing for a simi- 
 lar spectacle."! 
 
 Such was the condition of France when the assembly of 
 Notables met at St. Germains. The Chancellor L'Hopital, who 
 had been growing more tolerant every day, addressed them 
 in a speech full of eloquence and sound sense. He called their 
 attention to the actual state of the Huguenots, their number, 
 and their strength; and showed the injustice and impolicy of 
 those who wished the king to put himself at the head of one 
 part of his subjects, and establish peace by the destruction of 
 the other. " In such a war," he continued, " where is. the king 
 to find soldiers ? Among his subjects. Against whom is he 
 to lead them ? Against his subjects. A triumph or a defeat 
 is equally the destruction of his subjects. I resign controver- 
 sies on religion to the theologians ; our business is not to set- 
 tle articles of faith, but to regulate the state. A man may be a 
 
 * This was Pierre Craon, called Nez d'Argent, because lie had lost his 
 nose in a drunken brawl, and it was replaced by one of silver. He was at 
 one time Professor of Humanity at Rheims, but resigned his chair on turn- 
 ing Protestant, and removed to Paris. The children used to sing a song 
 about him. He was "fort renomme' en science," and worked quite a revo- 
 lution in pronunciation and orthography, sounding c like c/i, and substi- 
 tuting k for c in calendrier, Catherine, etc. lie also introduced parenthe- 
 ses, commas, accents, diphthongs, and apostrophes. One account says lie 
 was hanged in December, 1561. See Jean Lefevrc : Hist, des Troubles, 
 i. j. 140. 
 
 t Arret du Parlement ; Archives curieuses, torn. iv. ; Ilistoire veritable (u 
 Huguenot account) : ibid. p. 49-75. 
 
 J " Un altro simile spettacolo." Lett, to Card. Borromeo.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 183 
 
 good subject without being a Catholic. I see no reason why 
 we should not live in peace with those who do not observe the 
 same religious ceremonies as ourselves." 
 
 After a long and warm discussion the opinions of the Mod- 
 erate or " political " party triumphed, and sixteen articles were 
 drawn up, which became the basis of the celebrated Edict of 
 January, 1562. It suspended ah 1 preceding edicts, and author- 
 ized " those of the religion " to assemble unarmed outside the 
 towns to preach, pray, and perform other religious exercises. 
 By this means it was hoped to avoid collision Avith the Cath- 
 olics. The edict farther stipulated that the Protestants should 
 restore the churches and other ecclesiastical property they had 
 seized ; that they should not resist the collection of tithes, or 
 criticise the ceremonies of the Catholic religion in their ser- 
 mons, books, or conversation. They were also forbidden to 
 hold synods without the permission of the crown, or to travel 
 from town to town to preach, but were to confine themselves 
 to one church. As a natural corollary Catholic preachers were 
 likewise enjoined to abstain from invectives," as things serv- 
 ing rather to excite the people to sedition than persuade them 
 to devotion." The various Parliaments at first refused to reg- 
 ister the edict, without which ceremony it would not have the 
 force of law ; but their opposition was overcome in every in- 
 stance except that of Dijon, where it was " virtuously resist- 
 ed" by Gaspard de Saulx-Tavannes, lieutenant-general of Bur- 
 gundy, a stanch partisan of the Guises, and one of the most 
 sanguinary leaders of the age. The Parliament of Paris was 
 characteristically obstinate. To the first summons they replied, 
 Nee possumus nee debemus ; and when they yielded at last 
 to a threat of physical force, they would only register the edict 
 under protest, " considering the urgent necessity of a tempo- 
 rary measure." The Cardinal of Lorraine accepted it, acknowl- 
 edging to Throckmorton that some reformation was necessa- 
 ry, but he- seemed to think that the reform should come from 
 above, and not from " men of their own authority." * 
 * Forbes, ii. pp. 337-338.
 
 184: MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 The Huguenots received the edict with gratitude, if not with 
 exultation. Limited as were the privileges it granted, still it 
 was a victory over their opponents. The right of assembling 
 was conceded to them, and for such a right the blood of their 
 martyred brethren had not been shed in vain. The preachers 
 took immediate advantage of the liberty given them by the 
 edict, and preached more boldy than ever in fields and gardens 
 or any open space, and, if the weather was bad, in such sheds 
 and barns as they could find. " The people," says Castelnau, 
 " curious about every thing new, crowded to hear them, Cath- 
 olics as well as Protestants." The Romish party, who un- 
 doubtedly formed the great majority of the nation, and the 
 most ignorant portion of it, were greatly disgusted with this 
 Edict of Pacification, imperfect as it was, and began to range 
 themselves in opposition to the crown. Brulart only echoed 
 the public opinion when lie declared the Edict of January to 
 be " the most pernicious possible for the repose and welfare of 
 the state, and the support of the kingdom," and " a wholesale 
 approval of that wretched Calvinistic sect." In certain prov- 
 inces it had been well received ; but, in Burgundy, Tavannes 
 would hear of no toleration. He drove a large number re- 
 port says more than 2000 of the Reformed out of Dijon, and 
 issued an order to the neighboring peasantry " to massacre all 
 who prayed elsewhere than in the churches, and to refuse drink, 
 food, and shelter to the expelled rebels." At Aix, the Protest- 
 ants had been accustomed, to worship under a fir-tree outside 
 the walls. Every morning for weeks men and women were 
 seen hanging from its branches ; they had been seized in the 
 night, and executed without trial, on the mere denunciation of 
 an enemy. 
 
 The Cardinal of Lorraine and the Duke of Guise had retired 
 from the Privy Council in December, in order that they might 
 take no part in deliberations in which they knew the majority 
 would be against them. Such a silent protest added largely 
 to their popularity, and they were already looked upon as the 
 heads of an anti-Huguenot league. They placed orthodoxy
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 185 
 
 before loyalty, and were ready to oppose the crown whenever 
 it showed any toleration to heretics. Nearly twelve months 
 before this date the duke had told the queen-mother in answer 
 to her question, that the Catholics would not obey the king if 
 he changed his religion. Still there are good reasons to believe 
 that all would have gone on quietly but for the defection of 
 the weak-minded Anthony of Navarre, whose ruling passion 
 was to change his nominal sovereignty of Navarre for a real 
 crown and real subjects. The Guises played upon this weak- 
 ness ; Philip II. gave him a choice of several thrones ; and 
 the pope's legate " very cleverly " offered to divorce him from 
 his excellent wife Joan of Albret, so that he might marry the 
 widowed Mary Stuart. But there was one condition : he 
 must apostatize. By such a man as Anthony, who had no 
 principle, that little obstacle was soon surmounted; and in 
 February, 1562, he sold himself to the enemy. Davila's lan- 
 guage leaves no doubt as to the motives of his conversion.* 
 Anthony's secession brought a great increase of power to the 
 side of the Triumvirate by placing at their disposal the troops 
 that obeyed him as lieutenant-general of France. The inso- 
 lence of the Guises increased with success. Their pride and 
 contempt for all who did not belong to their family or depend- 
 ents almost bordered on insanity. They could brook no opposi- 
 tion, and that the Huguenots should think for themselves was 
 a crime to be expiated only by death. They aimed at political 
 supremacy, and Coligny, now the acknowledged Huguenot 
 chief, though Conde was the nominal head, stood in the way of 
 their ambition. The Triumvirate, therefore, decided upon 
 carrying matters to extremity, and willingly accepted the aid 
 proffered them by the King of Spain. Philip II., the self -con- 
 stituted champion of Romanism, the "demon du midi," f was 
 trying to crush the Reform in Flanders by a persecution un- 
 paralleled for its merciless severity in the history of the world. 
 
 * Davila : Jlist. Cuerres civiles de France, 1. p. 78 (4to. Paris, 1657). 
 t Psalm xci. ( Vulgate, xc.) : " Non timebis ab incursu ct dsemonio mericl- 
 iano."
 
 186 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 lie saw clearly that if France were reformed, or even if the 
 Reformers were tolerated, success would be impossible ; and 
 he had therefore instructed his embassador, Chantonnay, as 
 early as the 16th October, 1561, to tell the regent that if re- 
 ligious matters were not arranged by which he meant, un- 
 less the late proscriptions were renewed he would send 
 troops to the aid of the Catholics. Catherine was not the 
 woman to submit to such an unsolicited intervention, even at 
 the hands of her royal son-in-law, and she answered the am- 
 bassador haughtily, that " she did not know what his Spanish 
 Majesty meant, but the king had troops enough to enforce 
 obedience from his sxibjects, and that she would severely pun- 
 ish any who sought for foreign aid without the authority of 
 the crown." There can hardly be a doubt that, at this time, 
 Catherine was sincere in her determination to maintain a re- 
 ligious toleration, even at the risk of hostilities with Spain ; 
 and she appears to have consulted Coligny as to the number 
 of men the Reformed churches could bring into the field.* 
 But events moved so swiftly that she had for the time no 
 alternative but to go with the stream. 
 
 Anthony's defection had destroyed that balance of parties 
 which the queen-mother had so diligently labored to maintain. 
 As rash and violent now as he had previously been dilatory 
 and weak, he had hastened to Paris, whence he wrote, invit- 
 ing Guise to join him, and make a combined attack upon the 
 Protestants. The Duke was at the castle of Joinville in Cham- 
 pagne, having just returned from Saverne in Alsace, where 
 the Lorraine princes had met Duke Christopher of Wurtem- 
 berg. Their object in visiting Germany was to mislead the 
 Protestants of that country, and alienate them entirely from 
 the Calvinists of France, thinking that, if the latter were de- 
 prived of all external support, they must soon be crushed. f 
 The Cardinal of Lorraine twice preached sermons so Lutheran 
 
 * Beza Calvino, Gth January, 1562. Baum. App. The Posidonius of the 
 text is evidently the admiral. 
 
 t See Vavillas, i. p. 121 ; Gacon : COM- de Catk. d. Mtd.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 187 
 
 in spirit, that his open adoption of the Confession of Augs- 
 burg was eagerly looked for ; * and the language of the Duke 
 of Guise and his brother Charles, in their conferences with 
 Duke Christopher and his chancellor, Brentz, is so extraordi- 
 nary, and, as regards Duke Francis, so unlike what we read of 
 him at other times, as almost to shake our faith in the genu- 
 ineness of the report of the confereuce.f Brentz entreated 
 the cardinal to put an end to the persecutions in France. " I 
 will do so," he replied, adding with a solemn look, " that he 
 had not put one single man to death on account of his religion." 
 Francis corroborated 'his brother's words, and said: ""We 
 will do the Reformed no injury." We shall see how well the 
 two Lorraine princes kept their promise. 
 
 Vassy is a small fortified town of Champagne (Haute 
 Marne), on the river Braise, about sixty leagues from Paris. 
 It now contains a population of little more than 3000, and, 
 three centuries ago, probably did 'not contain half that num- 
 ber. The Reformed Church, however, must have been strong 
 in that quarter, for on Christmas Day, 1561, as many as 3000 
 persons are reported to have assembled for divine worship, of 
 whom 900 partook of the Holy Communion. \ Such an asser- 
 tion of liberty of thought greatly offended Antoinette de 
 Bourbon, the dowager duchess of Guise. She could not un- 
 derstand how her vassals or, to speak more correctly, the 
 vassals of Mary Stuart, her granddaughter should dare 
 choose a religion for themselves, and urged her son Francis to 
 punish their presumption. The duke, notwithstanding what 
 he had promised at Saverne, needed no stimulants to the dis- 
 charge of so agreeable a duty. His way to Paris lay through 
 Vassy, and as he came near the town on Sunday morning (1st 
 
 * "A rigidioribus pontificiis nccnsatnr Lutheranismi .... jam pulchre 
 simulet .... videaturnon multiim a nostris dissent ire." Languet, Epist. 
 44, lib. 2. p. 112; 45, p. 116; 63, p. 159 (26th November, 1561). 
 
 t The original report of the Saverne Conference is given in the Bulletin de 
 rilist. Prot. Franyais, iv. p. 184. 
 
 J It is hardly necessary to caution the reader against accepting these 
 numbers literallv.
 
 188 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 March, 1562), he heard the sound of a bell. "What noise 
 is that?" he asked. "They are calling the Huguenots to 
 their sermon," was the reply. " Huguenots ! Huguenots ! " he 
 swore ; " S'death ! I will huguenotize them before long." He 
 rode into the town, alighted at the convent where he dined, and 
 after dinner for that meal was then eaten in the forenoon 
 he ordered out his soldiers, between 200 and 300 in number, 
 and marched them to the barn in which the Huguenots, trades- 
 people for the most part, had assembled to hear a new preach- 
 er who had just been sent to them from Geneva. The ducal 
 retainers began the strife by abusing the congregation as 
 " heretics, dogs, and rebels," murdering three, and wounding 
 several who attempted to close the door. The Huguenots en- 
 deavored to defend themselves with such weapons as they 
 could snatch up: two, who were probably gentlemen, drew 
 their swords, others flung stones, one of which struck the 
 duke in the cheek as he stood near the door. In a whirlwind 
 of rage he gave his followers orders to spare nobody, and 
 these orders were but too faithfully carried out.* Such as 
 escaped the sword were killed by the arquebuse as they were 
 making their way through the windows or over the roof. For 
 one hour the bloody work continued, during which time between 
 fifty and sixty of the Huguenots were murdered on the spot, 
 and about two hundred wounded, some of them mortally. 
 " There were left forty-two poor widows burdened with orphan 
 children," wrote Beza. Many who succeeded in escaping from 
 the barn, were pursued and killed in the town, and probably 
 none would have been spared but for the Duchess of Guise, 
 who, remembering the bloody scenes at Amboise, interceded 
 for the women. When ah 1 was over a book was brought the 
 duke ; he looked at it contemptuously, he had never seen such 
 a volume before. " Here," said he, handing it to the cardinal, 
 " here is one of the Huguenot books." " There is no harm in 
 it," his brother answered ; " it is the Bible." It was probably 
 
 * A print in Montfat^on, which has been often copieJ, represents the 
 duke himself stabbing a woman.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 189 
 
 the one used in public worship. " S'blood ! how is that ? 
 This book has only been printed a year, and they say the Bi- 
 ble is more than fifteen hundred years old." " My brother is 
 mistaken," quietly observed the cardinal, as he turned away to 
 hide a smile of contempt at the duke's ignorance.* 
 
 The news of the " blood-bath of Vassy " spread like wild-fire 
 through France, everywhere creating the deepest agitation. 
 Such an outrage was not only an infringement of the Edict of 
 January, the ink of which was scarcely dry, but a direct de- 
 fiance of it ; the act (as it were) of a man who, in pursuance 
 of his own ends, had resolved to trample upon all law.f If 
 the offense were not punished, no one would be safe hereafter ; 
 no law would be binding. As soon as the tidings of the mas- 
 sacre reached Paris, Marshal Montmorency, the governor, who 
 was not unfriendly to the Huguenots, advised the ministers to 
 adjourn their preachings for a few days, lest there should be 
 a riot ; but with characteristic obstinacy they refused, as it 
 would be " acknowledging they were in the wrong." They 
 farther asked for a guard to protect them in their ministra- 
 tions. Meanwhile Beza went to Monceaux, and appealed per- 
 sonally to the queen-regent. The apostate Anthony of Na- 
 
 * There are many contemporary and contradictory accounts of the Vassy 
 massacre. Description du Saccagement exerce cruellement en la. Ville de Vassy. 
 Caen, 1562 ; Discours au Vrai de ce qui est dernierement advenu a V r assi. Paris, 
 1562. This account says that the duke heard mass at Dampmartin, and 
 then went on to Vassy, where he alighted at the convent. The Discours 
 entier de la Persecution ... . en la Vifk de Vassy, le 1 mars 1562, says 
 that the duke was disturbed at mass by the singing of the Huguenots [who 
 were outside the walls], and that on his sending to desire them to " wait 
 until mass was over, when they might sing till they burst," they sang all 
 the louder. See also Alberi : Vita di Caterina de, Medici, p. 92, note. Dr. 
 Lingard asserts that Brantome was present at the massacre, but the abbe 
 says plainly, "Jen'y e'tais pas." The account in the text is substantially 
 Davila's; the duke's own statement is inCastelnau. 
 
 t The duke afterward attempted to justify himself on the ground that the 
 Protestants had begun the attack ; but it is not probable that a body of un- 
 armed pei-sons, including many women and children, would have provoked 
 an armed body of men commanded by one of the first soldiers in France. 
 If what Davila says is true, the duke did not regret this opportunity of show- 
 ing how much he detested the January edict (liv. iii.).
 
 190 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 varre attempted to defend the Duke, and, throwing the blame 
 on the Huguenots, said that Beza ought to be hanged.* Beza 
 replied that the Church of Christ was more apt to receive blows 
 than to inflict them, adding, in words that have since passed 
 into a proverb, " Remember, Sire, it is an anvil on which many 
 a hammer has been broken." The queen-mother made a gra- 
 cious answer, and promised that the edict should be enforced. 
 She bade Navarre watch over the safety of the king, and sum- 
 moned Guise to court, " unattended by any men-at-arms." 
 Marshal St. Andre was ordered to repair to his government 
 at Lyons, but refused to go. 
 
 The excitement was so great in Paris that each party took 
 up arms, declaring they did so in self-defense ; and had there 
 been a reckless leader on either side, the streets would have 
 run with blood shed hi civil strife. The hotels of Montmoren- 
 cy and of Guise were turned into fortresses, and strongly gar- 
 risoned by their respective partisans. The constable, as rep- 
 resentative of the oldest barony of France, was urged by 
 his wife to act up to his motto, and defend the faith ; and 
 he would possibly have been induced to adopt an extreme 
 course but for his son Marshal Montmorency, who advised 
 moderation, and urged that it would be wiser to conciliate the 
 queen-mother than attempt to coerce her. 
 
 The slaughter at Vassy was as much exulted over by the 
 ignorant and fanatical Catholic populace as it was bewailed by 
 the Calvinists. Priests in the pulpit declared Duke Francis to 
 be a second Moses, a Jehu, who " by shedding the blood of the 
 wicked had consecrated his hands, and avenged the Lord's 
 quarrel." Ballads were made upon it, and the orthodox street- 
 singers extolled the Duke of Guise in very laudatory if not 
 very polished strains : 
 
 Nons avons un bon seigneur 
 
 En cc pays de France, 
 Et prince de grand honneur 
 
 * Ste Croix, 15th March, 15G2 ; Cimber, vi. 51.
 
 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 191 
 
 Vaillant par excellence, 
 Et tres-humain, 
 Doux et be'nin ; 
 
 C'est le bon due de Guise, 
 
 Qui a Vassy, 
 
 Par sa merci, 
 A defendu 1'e'glise. 
 
 The Calvinists replied in coarse and more vigorous terms : 
 
 Un morceau de pate 
 
 II fait adorer, 
 Le rompt de sa patte 
 
 Pour le devorer, 
 Le gourmet qu'il est ! 
 Hari, hari 1'ane, le gourmet qu'il est ! 
 
 Ilari bouriquet. 
 
 Le dicu qu'il fait faire 
 
 La bouche le prend, 
 Le coeur le digere, 
 
 Au ventre le rend 
 Au fond du retrait. 
 Hari, hari 1'anc, au fond du retrait. 
 
 Hari bouriquet. 
 
 Meanwhile the duke, escorted by a body of 1 200 gentlemen 
 on horseback, continued his journey to Paris, which he enter- 
 ed in triumph by the St. Denis gate a gate usually re- 
 served for kings.* The multitude cheered him loudly as he 
 passed down that long narrow street, hailing him as a second 
 Judas Maccabasus ; the trades harangued him, and called upon 
 him to extirpate heresy. On the same day or on the next, 
 as others write Beza preached a sermon beyond the city 
 walls, which the Prince of Conde attended with three or four 
 hundred men, horse and foot, armed with pistols and arque- 
 busi's, to protect the preacher, who also wore a breastplate. 
 The prince had gone to Paris to support the governor and ob- 
 tain justice for the massacre. He charged the duke with at- 
 tempting to seize the government, and advised Catherine to 
 
 * " Magnifico apparatu," snys Ertzinper ; "with 2000 gentlemen and 
 3000 horses," says Brulart. The date is uncertain, the authorities giv- 
 ing 15th, IGth, and 20th March.
 
 192 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 accept the aid of the Protestants. The queen-mother did not 
 know how to act, fearing to trust herself wholly to either par- 
 ty. At last she prevailed upon Conde and Guise to leave the 
 capital so as to avoid all chances of collision. The duke read- 
 ily consented, feeling secure of the citizens ; on the other hand, 
 Conde clearly foresaw that he would lose the city if he quitted 
 it ; but being too weak to hold his ground, he withdrew to 
 his estate at La Ferte-sous-Jouarre, on the Marne, to the 
 north-east of Paris. 
 
 The queen-mother soon found out that she had made a 
 great mistake in urging Conde to leave the capital : she saw 
 that the power had passed out of her hands, and that the 
 Guises were preparing to make a tyrannous use of it. She 
 feared the Triumvirate, for herself as well as for her son ; and 
 there is a story that she overheard St. Andre proposing to 
 throw her into the Seine. To preserve her freedom of action 
 she quitted Monceaux in great secresy, and removed to Melun, 
 taking Charles IX. with her,* having apparently made up 
 her mind to act with decision. She appealed to Conde to pro- 
 tect her and the young king " from the greatest enemy France 
 can have, and who is also yours :" and the prince lost no time 
 in summoning Coligny, Andelot, La Rochefoucalt, and other 
 chiefs of the Huguenot party to meet him at Meaux, to take 
 the queen's letters into consideration. As they were not 
 strong enough to force their way back to Paris, they resolved 
 to get possession of the king's person, and carry him off to 
 Orleans, knowing well the great strength their cause would de- 
 rive from the royal presence among them. But the Triumvi- 
 rate were equally clear on this point, and being more prompt 
 became masters of the coveted prize. 
 
 Meanwhile the Parisians had begun to murmur at the ab- 
 sence of their sovereign, and to quiet their remonstrances the 
 queen-mother removed at Easter to Fontainebleau, which was 
 farther from Conde's head-quarters at Meaux. The Guises, 
 
 * Monconux was an undefended country-house, 1J- leag. S.W. of St. Den- 
 is, and | Icag. E. of Neuilly.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 193 
 
 suspecting her intentions, determined to anticipate them by a 
 coup-de-maln. The King of Navarre was dispatched with a 
 strong body of Catholic gentlemen, including the constable, 
 to escort the young king to Paris, on the ground that he was not 
 safe so long as the Huguenots were at Meaux. Anthony, as 
 first prince of the blood, was to a certain extent the guardian 
 of his infant master, and no doubt he would have asserted 
 that right had Catherine resisted. She held out indeed for a 
 time, but gave way at last, saying, " I know how useless it is 
 to speak to you of your duty ; but alone, deserted, and betray- 
 ed as I am, I shall defend the liberty of my son your king." 
 Being thus "benetted round with villains," she yielded only 
 when Navarre had actually issued orders for dismantling the 
 royal apartments ; for such were the scanty comforts even of 
 royalty in those days, that when the court moved from place 
 to place, carpets, tapestry, beds and furniture were moved 
 also. The queen-regent sent off a hasty express to Conde, 
 in the hope that he would be able to rescue her on the road ; 
 but the hope was vain. The journey to Paris or, to be ver- 
 bally accurate, to Melun and Vincennes was a sad one ; Cath- 
 erine hardly spoke a word to the escort during the three days 
 it occupied ; and the boy-king, who imagined they were tak- 
 ing him to prison, wept several times with ah 1 the violence of 
 childish grief. 
 
 Conde came at last, but only to see the king and his moth- 
 er carried off in triumph ; his force was not strong enough to 
 rescue them, even had the attempt been safe. Henceforth 
 the regent was in the hands of the reactionists, and must fol- 
 low wherever they led. With contemptuous politeness they 
 assured her, if we may believe Chantonnay, " that they had 
 never thought of depriving her of the government, and would 
 not attempt it, so long as she gave her hand to the support of 
 true religion and of the king's authority." * Supporting true 
 religion meant depriving the Huguenots of their privileges, 
 
 * Letter of 12th April, 1562; Mem. de Conde, ii. 53. 
 
 N
 
 194 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 the first step toward which was to interdict the Reformers 
 of Paris from meeting to worship within the walls of the cap- 
 ital a deprivation partly justifiable under the circumstances. 
 The mutual jealousy of the triumvirs prevented the exercise 
 of any harsh measures toward Catherine : each intrigued 
 against the other, and hoped to make use of her for his own 
 private ends. Each was aware that if she were removed, his 
 own position would be imperiled by the rival ambitions of his 
 colleagues.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 195 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FIRST RELIGIOUS WAR. 
 
 [1562-1503.] 
 
 Beginning of Reaction Causes of the War The Huguenots arm Advice 
 of Coligny's Wife Covenant of Association Massacre at Sens and Sis- 
 teron Discipline of the Armies Catherine attempts to mediate Con- 
 ference at Thorny Negotiations broken off Fearful state of Paris The 
 Constable's violence Appeals to Foreign Sympathy Successes of the 
 Royalists Atrocities at Blois and Tours Rouen Besieged The Breach 
 stormed The Hour of Vengeance Pastor Marlorat hanged Death of 
 Anthony of Xavarre Disturbances in Normandy Offer of Amnesty 
 Battle of Dreux Conde and Montmorency captured St. Andre killed 
 Siege of Orleans Duke of Guise murdered Poltrot de Mere Pacifi- 
 cation of Amboise Distress caused by the War Death of Coligny's Son 
 Letter to his Wifa. 
 
 ALL great efforts are followed by a reaction. We have 
 seen how Protestantism had been spreading over France dur- 
 ing the last forty years, the attempts to crush it serving but 
 to give it greater vitality. We are now approaching a period 
 of counter- revolution ; the tide of reform has reached its 
 flood and will soon begin to ebb, slowly, irregularly, but cer- 
 tainly, so that at last we entirely lose sight of religion in the 
 political struggle that ensued. 
 
 Attempts have been made to fix upon the Huguenots the 
 terrible responsibility of beginning the civil strife. It is easy 
 to prove this, or any other historical untruth, by a skillful 
 manipulation of documents ; but the evidence of eye-witnesses 
 of, and actors in, the events of the spring of 1562, points to the 
 opposite conclusions. La Noue, who was present at Meaux, 
 positively affirms that there was no plan or previous arrange- 
 ment. " Most of the nobility," he says, " hearing of the slaugh- 
 ter at Vassy, partly of a voluntary good-will, and partly for
 
 196 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 fear, determined to draw toward Paris, imagining that their 
 protectors might stand in some need of them." * And that 
 there was good ground for this fear appears certain from a 
 contemporary letter, in which the writer says : " Every 
 thing is in such confusion at court that, if God does not lend 
 a helping hand, I fear that in less than ten days you will 
 have news of the prettiest (plus beau) massacre that ever 
 was."t 
 
 Is it wonderful if in such a state of things the Protestant 
 gentry thought it necessary to take counsel together? Of 
 their deliberations we know nothing, but the result was a 
 resolution to take up arms. Coligny alone appears to have 
 held back, and without his countenance and support the chances 
 of success were very small. There is a story told of him, 
 which we could hope to be true, though it is at variance with 
 certain known facts. He had long kept aloof, notwithstand- 
 ing the entreaties of his brothers Andelot and the Cardinal 
 of Chatillon that he would take the field ; and when his 
 wife added her entreaties to theirs, he drew a terrible picture 
 of civil war and the possible fate of herself and their children, 
 and begged her take three weeks to weigh the matter delib- 
 erately in her mind. " The three weeks are already past," 
 replied the heroic dame; "you will never be conquered by 
 the virtue of your enemies; employ your own, and do not 
 take upon your head the murders of three weeks." He hesi- 
 tated no longer, and the next day set off to join Condc at 
 Meaux, where the Huguenot gentlemen held rendezvous. 
 That prince had already committed himself too far not to see 
 that none but the boldest measures could save him : " It is 
 all over," he said ; " we have plunged in so deep that AVC 
 must either drink or drown." 
 
 The confederate, knowing how greatly success depended 
 
 * La Noue : PoKticke Discourses, Lond. 1587. This translation preserves 
 much of the spirit of the original French. 
 
 t Luillier to Lymoges, 20th April, 15G2. Paris : Cabinet Hiftorique, ii. 
 p. 291.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 197 
 
 upon prompt action, spent but few moments in deliberation. 
 Their first step must be to secure some strong town, in which 
 they could make a safe stand until reinforcements arrived. 
 For obvious strategical and political reasons they selected 
 Orleans, and thitherward, to the number of two thousand, 
 they turned their horses' heads. As the delay of even a few 
 minutes might be dangerous, they rode on like a fierce whirl- 
 wind, not stopping to pick up any one who fell on the road. 
 Once in Orleans, which they entered on the 2 d April, 1562, 
 they sent secret orders to their co-religionists all over France, 
 and their first measures were crowned with success. Almost 
 on the same day the Huguenots made themselves masters 
 of Havre, Rouen, Caen, and Dieppe in Normandy; Blois, 
 Tours, and Angers on the Loire ; Poitiers and Rochelle in 
 Poitou ; Chalons and Troyes in Champagne ; Macon in Bur- 
 gundy ; Gap and Grenoble in Dauphiny ; and Nismes, 
 Montpellier, Beziers, and Montauban in Languedoc; as well 
 as a large number of castles in the north, west, and south, 
 with the Cevennes district between Lyons and Toulouse. 
 
 From all these quarters the best gentlemen in France 
 rallied round Conde in defense of the rights of -their body 
 and the princes of the blood-royal against the usurpation and 
 violence, of the Guises, who were foreigners. Many of them 
 were related to Conde : the three Chatillons were the uncles 
 of his wife; Prince Porcien the husband of his neice; La 
 Rochefoucault had married his sister-in-law. Viscount Rohan 
 represented the nobles of Dauphiny; Andelot the Pays de 
 France ; the Count of Grammont led the Gascons ; Montgom- 
 ery the Normans ; and Genlis the sober and industrious Pic- 
 ards. Their first step was to sign a Covenant of Association, 
 binding them to spend their goods and their lives in restoring 
 the king to liberty, and procuring freedom of worship to all 
 Frenchmen. They necessarily made Conde their leader, and 
 then sent off letters (7th May) to all the churches, desiring 
 them " in God's name " to furnish both men and money. 
 " We have taken up arms," said the confederates, " that we
 
 198 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 may deliver the King and Queen from the hands of their ene- 
 mies, and secure the full execution of the Edict of January." 
 Conde also thought it his duty to dispatch a messenger to the 
 queen-mother, with an explanation of the motives which had 
 driven him to such extreme measures. Catherine would not 
 commit herself to a written answer, but desired the Baron de 
 la Garde to tell the Prince, " that she would never forget 
 what he might do for the king her son." 
 
 The Catholics, if less prompt, were not less vigorous in their 
 proceedings. In 1561 the citizens of Paris had been disarmed 
 as a measure of precaution ; now every member of the " an- 
 cient Catholic religion," capable of bearing arms, was ordered 
 to procure them and attend drill.* By this means fifteen corps 
 of infantry, amounting to the almost incredible number f of 
 30,000 men (others say 24,000), were placed at the disposal of 
 the Triumvirate for the protection of the capital. By another 
 order, issued by Marshal Brissac, who had succeeded Mont- 
 morency as governor, all persons, "notoriously famed as being 
 of the new religion," were ordered to leave the city within 
 twenty-four hours, or they would be hanged ; as for such as 
 were " suspected " only, they were required to get a certificate 
 of confession.J The populace did not fail to take advantage of 
 the opportunity thus placed within their reach, by informing 
 against those whom, from any personal or other motive, they 
 
 * In spite of the disarming edicts, the arms had not been given up, tlic 
 Huguenots retaining theirs in some districts. Accordingly, on 28th April, 
 1562, the king wrote to De la Mothe Gondrin, ordering the arms to lie 
 restored to the Catholics, "pour lettr surete et conservation, leur defendant 
 ntanmoins tres-expressement, de par rnoy, de n'en mat user, et de n'entrc- 
 prendre aucune chose de mauvais, sous peine d'etre punis et chdtie's exem- 
 plairement." Ordinances and letters of Charles IX. in Archives of Lyons. 
 
 t This statement, if correct, must be the number on paper merely, and 
 even then it would be one in four of the whole population of Paris. 
 
 J From the Enqueste sur la Profession religieuse de noble homtne Jehan de 
 Montruillon, 1570, it would appear, that the certificate required to be signed 
 by the parish priest and his curate, the church-wardens and sexton, the dis- 
 trict judges and others. It states that the bearer attends mass and confes- 
 sion, that he is married, and that his children were christened in the parish 
 church.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 199 
 
 wanted to turn out of their houses ; and if the Huguenots did 
 not go, they were plundered and ill-used. 
 
 And now began a war of manifestoes and remonstrances. 
 The walls of the capital were covered with placards in which 
 the Huguenots declared that they had taken up arms in self- 
 defense and not for plunder, and the Catholics replied in 
 terms that exhausted the vocabulary of abuse. The Lorraine 
 party, or the Triumvirate, was the Ultramontane or foreign 
 party ; the Protestant party was especially that of national in- 
 dependence. The Huguenots, like the English Parliamentari- 
 ans of 1642, represented the middle classes, and were (perhaps 
 unconsciously) democratic in their tendencies ; the Royalists 
 (as we may call them, since they held the king's person, al- 
 though they were not more loyal than their opponents) were 
 supported by the clergy, the ignorant rural population, and 
 the poverty of the towns. Both parties sought political 
 power to carry out their views. 
 
 It may be said that, if ever there was a time when Chris- 
 tians were justified in resorting to the sword, it was the pres- 
 ent. The laws in favor of the Huguenots were constantly and 
 systematically broken. The massacre at Vassy was only the 
 first of a series of outrages equally barbarous. At Sens in 
 Burgundy, a Huguenot having insulted a Catholic procession, 
 the tocsin was rung, and there was a general onslaught upon 
 the Reformed, without regard either to age or sex. The bod- 
 ies of the victims, stripped and fastened to planks, were thrown 
 into the river and floated down to Paris, twenty leagues dis- 
 tant. One of them, that of a Gascon officer, was dragged 
 through the streets by boys leaping and shouting : " Take 
 care of your pigs, for we have got the pigkeeper." The 
 fanatic populace destroyed every thing, even rooting up the 
 vines in the Calvinist vineyards. For three days the hideous 
 carnival of murder went on, and ceased only from want of vic- 
 tims.* 
 
 * "Ut occidendorum penuria interficiendi finem fecerit." Eytzinger: 
 Leo Bely. p. 31.
 
 200 ' MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 The massacre of Sens took place in April, while the Baron 
 de la Garde was on his mission of peace in the Protestant 
 camp. It was said to have been perpetrated at the instiga- 
 tion of the Cardinal of Lorraine, who was archbishop of that 
 city, and who took no steps to prevent the murders. As soon as 
 the news reached the ears of Conde, he broke off all negotia- 
 tions, and declared that he would not lay down his arms " until 
 he had driven his most cruel enemies (the Guises) out of 
 France." The nuncio Santa Croce seems to allude to two 
 massacres : " Since the massacre at Sens, of which I wrote in 
 my last, another great slaughter of eighty Huguenots has hap- 
 pened, and some thirty of their houses have been burned in 
 that city." Perrenot de Chantonnay, the Spanish embassador, 
 writes exultingly : " Already in many parts of this king- 
 dom, as at Sens, Toulouse, Castel-Navarre, and Villefranche, 
 the Catholics have risen against the Huguenots, who have 
 had the worst of it; and in some places the preachers were 
 burned in the market-place." 
 
 All over France, from the Channel to the Mediterranean, 
 similar ferocious outbreaks occurred. At Sisteron, beneath 
 the shadow of the Lower Alps, three hundred women and chil- 
 dren, refugees from all parts of Provence, were pitilessly mur- 
 dered, the men having made their escape. One poor woman 
 with a baby in her arms was taken outside the town and put 
 to death, and her body buried beneath the ruins of the house 
 where she used to worship. 
 
 All comment on these things * would be superfluous. Is it 
 wonderful that in such a state of lawlessness the Reformed 
 nobles and gentlemen armed in self-defense ? With indignant 
 eloquence, Agrippa d'Aubigne vindicates the rebellion in which 
 the Huguenots sought to protect themselves : " So long as the 
 adherents of the new religion were destroyed merely under 
 the form of law, they submitted themselves to the slaughter, 
 
 * It may be objected that, as some of the cases cited in the text occurred 
 after Conde"s revolt, they can not be used to justify it. They are introduced 
 to show the state of public feeling at the time.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 201 
 
 and never raised a hand in their own defense against those 
 injuries, cruel and iniquitous as they were. But when the 
 public authorities and the magistracy, divesting themselves 
 of the venerable aspect of justice, put daggers into the hands 
 of the people, abandoning every man to the violence of his 
 neighbors ; and when public massacres were perpetrated to 
 the sound of the drum and of the trumpet, who could forbid 
 the unhappy sufferers to oppose hand to hand, and sword 
 to sword, and to catch the contagion of a righteous fury 
 from a fury unrestrained by any sense of justice ?" 
 This appeal to arms was quite contrary to the principles of 
 the founder of the French Church. In 1556, when Calvin had 
 reason to fear that the Reformed would resist if they were 
 attacked, he wrote to the church of Angers : " I pray you put 
 aside such counsels ; they will never be blessed by God, or 
 come to a good issue." And to the church at Paris he wrote 
 in the same strain : " Show yourselves like lambs against the 
 rage of the wolves, for you have the promise of the Good 
 Shepherd, who will never fail you. It is better that we be all 
 destroyed than for the Gospel to be reproached with leading 
 the people to sedition and tumult. God will always fructify 
 the ashes of his servants, whilst violence and excess will bring 
 nothing but barrenness." * 
 
 It is with great hesitation that I venture to differ from so 
 high an authority as Calvin ; but to oppose authority to au- 
 thority St. Augustine acknowledges that overwhelming ne- 
 cessity may justify Christians in drawing the sword.f And 
 Knox went still farther, maintaining in his "Appellation" 
 that it was not only the duty of a nation to resist a persecut- 
 ing sovereign, but (as in the case of the Marian persecutions) 
 also to depose the queen, and even " punish her to death, with 
 all the sort of her idolatrous priests." But the propriety of 
 arming in defense of religion can hardly in these days be 
 
 * See also letter to church of Blois, 18th September, 1557. 
 t " Nobis bellum non essc bonae voluntatis, ut pax, scd necessitatis .... 
 necessitas quae nos premit nullam patitur legem contra naturam."
 
 202 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 maintained on such grounds. The Huguenots of 1562 felt 
 that their only choice lay between extermination, hypocritical 
 conformity, or rebellion. They were contending against intol- 
 erable oppression ; the laws were no protection to them ; and 
 in such circumstances they believed resistance to be justifia- 
 ble. "Why should they apostatize, or be burned, while they 
 had strength to wield the sword, especially as the letter of the 
 law was in their favor ? Such a line of argument may fall 
 below the great ideal of the Founder of Christianity, in which 
 the highest victory is gained through suffering : " Unto him 
 that smiteth thee on the one cheek, offer also the other." 
 But how can we apply such a rule to a whole nation, the mass 
 of which consists of ordinary individuals ? Upon men of low 
 moral constitutions persecution has a searing, hardening, re- 
 vengeful effect. It would not raise the victims into martyrs, 
 or lift them up to the divine spirit of the Crucifixion. To for- 
 bid the use of the sword for any and every cause, as one very 
 narrow sect does, is intelligible ; but to say that we may draw 
 it. in defense of our homes and our goods, but not in defense 
 of our faith, is to count the latter of less value than the for- 
 mer. Those who sympathize with Calvin argue that the mid- 
 night assassin, or the violator of woman's purity, may be law- 
 fully resisted, even unto death ; not so another who would 
 force a man to abjure his faith. This is putting the purse 
 above the conscience. Calvin had never been tested in the 
 fire. Brentius and Languet, who had both been face to face 
 with the enemy, thought differently.* The latter, speaking of 
 a meeting at La Cerisaye, which had been attacked, says : 
 " There were some who would have rather been beaten than 
 draw their swords, but I was not of their opinion." f It may 
 
 * The reformer Brentius was at one time a decided advocate of the prin- 
 ciple of non-resistance ; but as he grew older, and witnessed the terrible 
 persecutions of the emperor, he altered his mind, and contended that the 
 subordinate powers, as being also of God, were called upon to resist the higher 
 powers, if they should turn their swords against the people of God. 
 
 t "Fiierunt aliqui, qui maluerint, plagas accipere qnam stringere gladios, 
 ego non fni in ea sententia." Eplst. ii. 149 (12th October! l, r )G2).
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 203 
 
 indeed be urged that the differences between the Romanists 
 and Huguenots were not important enough to justify armed 
 resistance ; but the alternative appeal is to the conscience ; 
 and if men and women, young and old, rich and poor, through 
 a long series of years, held their faith as deare^than their life, 
 we must infer that the differences to them were vital. 
 
 There is, however, a potent element of evil in armed resist- 
 ance. When Christians unite into armies, they are too apt to 
 become a political party, and losing sight of the motives and 
 principles which first banded them together, to contend for 
 mere temporal objects like any other body of men. It was 
 perhaps a misfortune that the Reformed were so numerous in 
 France ; had they been a small, insignificant body, they would 
 hardly have created such malignant animosity, and might 
 have escaped being mixed up in the civil war, which was soon- 
 er or later inevitable between the political parties. 
 
 Both armies now began to prepare for the coming struggle. 
 Never before in all history, and only once since, has any thing 
 been seen like the discipline at first maintained among the 
 Huguenots. A form of prayer, drawn up by Beza, was repeat- 
 ed every night and morning ; and the troops were " to be- 
 ware of oppressing the poor commons." As they marched 
 over the open country, " they neither spoiled nor misused 
 their hosts, but were content with a little .... Most of them 
 paid honestly for all things." La Noue aptly describes it as a 
 " well-ordered disorder." Speaking of the discipline of the 
 army while it lay for a fortnight in the camp at Vassadonne 
 near Orleans, he says : "Among all this great troop, ye should 
 never hear God's name blasphemed. There was not a pair of 
 dice or cards, the fountains of many brawls and thefts, walk- 
 ing in any quarter. . . . Truly, many wondered to see them so 
 well-disposed, and my late brother the Lord of Teligny and 
 myself, discoursing thereof with the Lord Admiral, did great- 
 ly commend it. Whereupon he said unto us : 'It is indeed a 
 goodly matter if it would continue; but I fear this people 
 will pour forth all their goodness at once, so as within these
 
 204: MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 two months they will have nothing but malice left. I have a 
 great while governed the footmen, and do know them. They 
 will fulfill the proverb : A young saint, an old devil. If this 
 fail, we may make a cross upon the chimney.' We smiled, 
 but took no farther heed thereof, until experience taught us 
 that herein he was a prophet." The admiral had not long to 
 wait for the fulfillment of his prophecy. At Beaugency, the 
 Huguenot force treated with more cruelty the Protestants 
 who had been unable to escape than they did the Catholic 
 soldiers who had held the town against them. " Thus," con- 
 tinues the amusing chronicler, " thus did our footmen lose 
 their virginity, and of this unlawful conjunction ensued the 
 procreation of Lady Picoree, who is since grown into such 
 dignity that she is now termed madame ; yea, if this civil war 
 continue, I doubt she will become a princess. Of the Catho- 
 lics, I will say that at the beginning they were likewise well 
 ordered, and did not much annoy the commons." The Hu- 
 guenots were the first to make the war support itself by con- 
 tributions levied upon the enemy. When the admiral was 
 in Normandy, the Catholic population of Caen was required 
 to furnish the sum of 10,000, not, however, Tintil Beza's ap- 
 peal to his co-religionists for money had utterly failed.* 
 
 Before the two armies came into actual collision, Catherine 
 interposed as a peace-maker. She saw plainly that, whichever 
 side conquered, the crown must suffer, and that it would be 
 ruinous to her power to allow one party to exterminate the 
 other. Accordingly, several attempts were made to induce 
 the Huguenots to lay down their arms. Montluc and Vieille- 
 ville were successively dispatched to Orleans, and as they 
 could obtain nothing from the confederated nobles, Catherine 
 determined to try the effect of her own power of persua- 
 sion. 
 
 A conference took place on the 2d of June between her 
 
 * Trcbutien : Caen, Precis de son Histoire ; also, JKecherches et AntiquiUs 
 de Caen.
 
 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 205 
 
 and Conde at Thorny in Beauce, ten leagues from Orleans. 
 La Noue describes the armed escorts on each side, sitting on 
 horseback and looking at each other for half an hour, " each 
 coveting to see, one his brother, another his uncle, cousin, 
 friend, or old companion." At last they got leave from their 
 respective commanders to speak with one another. They met 
 with great " demonstrations of amity." " The Catholics, im- 
 agining the Protestants to be lost, exhorted them to see to 
 themselves, and not to enter obstinately into this miserable war, 
 wherein near kinsmen must murder one another. Hereto 
 they answered that they detested it ; howbeit, if they had no re- 
 course to their defense, they were assured of like entreaty as 
 many other Protestants had received, who were cruelly slain 
 in sundry parts of France. Each provoked the other to peace, 
 and to persuade their superiors to hearken thereto." An eye- 
 witness writes : " On the 1 7th of June the queen set off again 
 from the forest of Vincennes in great haste, and it was believed 
 this time that she would conclude a peace before her return. 
 She had taken medicine and been bled the day before, being 
 ill through a fall from her hackney, going and coming with 
 such dispatch." 
 
 At a subsequent interview at Talcy* (28th June, 1562), 
 Conde, yielding to the persuasions of Montluc, Bishop of Va- 
 lence, offered to show his good faith by leaving the country, 
 provided the Guises would do the same ; and a meeting was 
 fixed for the next day at which the conditions of this singular 
 agreement were to be arranged. La N"oue tells us how " the 
 prince returned to his camp laughing (but between his teeth) 
 with the chief of his gentlemen who had heard aU his talk ; 
 some scratching their heads where they itched not, others shak- 
 
 * Talcy (dep. Loirct Cher) is on the right bank of the Loire, not far from 
 Beaugency. One room in the chateau is still called the "chambre tic 
 Medicis." There is a tradition that the Bartholomew Massacre was planned 
 here. It is now in the possession of a Protestant ; but, owing to frequent 
 alteration, little remains of the original buildinp, except the donjon and a 
 tower or two.
 
 206 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 ing them ; some were pensive ; and the younger sort gibed 
 at one another, each one devising with what occupation he 
 should be forced to get his living in a foreign land." "With 
 similar lightness of heart, but not with equal chivalry, the gen- 
 tlemen of France forsook their country in 1789, trusting to 
 return in a few weeks to a land which most of them never 
 saw again. 
 
 Conde's officers refused to follow him. Coligny supposed 
 the queen-mother meant no harm, but thought that " those 
 who had weapons in their hands did circumvent her to the 
 end to betray them." Andelot said to the prince : " If you 
 forsake us now, it will be said that you do it for fear. The 
 best way of coming to an agreement is to lead us within sight 
 of the enemy. We can never be perfect friends, before we 
 have skirmished a little together." The Lord of Boucarde, 
 one of the bravest gentlemen in the realm, " whose head was 
 fraught with fire and lead," declared : " I would be loth to 
 walk up and down a foreign land with a tooth-pick in my 
 mouth, and in the mean time see some flattering neighbor be 
 the master of my house, and fatten himself with my revenues." 
 These opinions being generally approved of, Conde gave way, 
 and " they all shook hands in confirmation thereof." Beza, 
 who was present at this council, afterward besought the 
 prince " not to give over the good work he had begun which 
 God, whose honor it concerned, would bring to perfection." 
 Thus the conference came to nothing; the queen-mother and 
 Conde separated, " each very sorry that they had no better 
 success." 
 
 The Huguenots had lost much valuable time by this at- 
 tempted mediation ; while the clergy and Parliament of Paris, 
 improving the opportunity, issued an order for those of the 
 true Church to take up arms and kill the heretics like mad 
 dogs. A contemporary denounces this proclamation as " a 
 means to arm thieves, vagabonds, and villains. It made the 
 ploughman to leave the plough, and the craftsman to shut up 
 his shop ; it changed the multitude into tigers and lions, and
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 207 
 
 fleshed them against their own countrymen." * Woe to the 
 vanquished, for atrocity begets atrocity ! A manuscript jour- 
 nal of this year, kept by some person attached to the court, 
 describes the fearful state of Paris. Every day had its tale of 
 outrage and murder by sword, rope, or water. Houses were 
 pillaged and razed to the ground ; cemeteries were broken 
 open, and the relics of the dead scattered to the winds. The 
 voice of the law was silent, and the government looked on, as 
 if powerless to prevent, but in reality pleased to see their ene- 
 mies exterminated. On one occasion, a child, hardly six 
 months old, who had been christened by a Huguenot pastor, 
 was rechristened at the Church of St. Germain 1'Auxerrois. 
 More than 10,000 spectators were witnesses of the ceremony: 
 the bells rang out joyous peals from every steeple, and the 
 crowd shouted : " Praised be God for the recovery of the 
 poor little soul." These profanations of the holy rite of bap- 
 tism were not confined to Paris. At Le Puy the infant of 
 " an apostate " was christened with great pomp of minstrels, 
 arquebusiers, and " taborins," the lord-bishop of the city being 
 godfather.f 
 
 On the last day of June several persons were murdered, and 
 among them a woman accused of not going to mass for ten 
 years. She' was cruelly beaten and then flung into the Seme, 
 when the boatmen knocked her on the head with oars and 
 poles. Two men also were killed and thrown into the river, 
 charged with being Huguenots. The blood-stained doublet 
 of one of them was fastened to a stick and carried in proces- 
 sion through the streets of Paris by a troop of noisy children. 
 " This, or something of the sort, was done every day," says 
 the court chronicler, " so that no one could be punished." J The 
 
 * This edict is computed to have caused the death of 50,000 persons. Jean 
 dc Sevres (Enpl. transl.), p. 703; M&n de Condi?; Brulart's Journal (13th 
 June, 1562); Gacon, i. 58. Castelnau speaks of the "licence de"bordc'e de 
 mal faire." 
 
 t Medicis MSS. 
 
 J Claude Haton reckons that 800 or 900 heretics were killed in Paris in
 
 208 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 blood-thirstiness of the multitude spread even to the young. 
 Santa Croce writes to Cardinal Borromeo : " Monsieur d'En- 
 ghien, who is only a little boy of seven, is always saying that 
 we must no longer delay to burn all the Huguenots without 
 
 mercy This I learned from the constable, who expressed 
 
 how greatly he was pleased to hear it." 
 
 The Constable Montmorency, who, as governor of Paris, 
 should have supported the authority of the law, was one of 
 the foremost to break it. He took such pleasure in destroy- 
 ing the Huguenot places of worship, that even the Catholics 
 nicknamed him Mr. Burn-bench. In one day he pulled 
 down the two meeting-houses at Popincourt,* and the mob 
 bringing the timber to the square in front of the Ilotel-de- 
 Ville, burned it there with shouts of " God has not forgotten 
 the city of Paris." The pulpit was used with great effect to 
 inflame the multitude. At the Fete Dieu, Charles of Guise, 
 " the bloody cardinal," f told his hearers it was better to shed 
 the last drop of their blood than permit God's honor and his 
 Church to be defiled by the presence of any other religion in 
 France than that of their ancestors." J 
 
 Matters became so bad that at last Queen Elizabeth instruct- 
 ed her embassador to leave Paris, " because he could not wit- 
 ness such great cruelties." What the queen-mother said or 
 did to conciliate her royal sister is not known ; but it is certain 
 that Catherine was much grieved at this state of affairs diu 
 multumque flevit. There is a story of her adopting a rather 
 oriental manner of learning the opinions of the citizens. Put- 
 ting on a mask, such as the Italian ladies were accustomed to 
 wear, she walked through the streets, accompanied by the 
 
 June, 1562, and adds: "God knows that many porters and rag-gatherers 
 were made rich, and many Huguenots poor." 
 
 * The Pincourt or Paincourt of the plans. It was in the Faubourg St. 
 Jacques, beyond the walls, and on the road to Menilmontant. The Rue 
 Popincourt forms the chief communication between the Rue Menilmontant 
 and the Faubourg St. Antoine. 
 
 t Les Tragiques: Les Fers, p. 226 (ed. Jannct, Paris, 1857). 
 
 JPasquicr: Lcttres, p. 272 ; Bayle, sub voce "Lorraine."
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 209 
 
 Queen of Navarre. They went into the shops, pretending to 
 purchase, and, as may be imagined, heard many strange things 
 about themselves and the government.* 
 
 All efforts at conciliation having failed, each party tried to 
 strengthen itself by foreign alliances. Guise, Montmorency, 
 and St. Andre had already, as we have seen, entered into a 
 treasonable arrangement with Philip II., by which that mon- 
 arch bound himself to aid with money and men in the extir- 
 pation of heresy in France ; " on no pretense to spare the life 
 of any heretic," says the /Sommaire.'f The duke was special- 
 ly charged " to blot out entirely the name, family, and race of 
 Bourbon, lest from them some one should arise hereafter to 
 restore the new religion." In pursuance of this agreement the 
 King of Spain wrote to the queen-mother offering military 
 support. J Pius V. ordered collections to be made in the 
 states of the Church, gathered contributions from the Italian 
 princes, and sent a small force of mercenaries across the Alps. 
 
 In self-defense the Huguenots were forced to appeal to their 
 brother Protestants for help ; nor were Swiss, Germans, or 
 English deaf to their appeal. By the treaty of Hampton Court 
 (20th Sept., 1562) Elizabeth agreed to furnish 6000 men, of 
 whom one-half were to garrison Havre, as a material guaran- 
 tee until the end of the war. This was an impolitic conces- 
 sion on the part of the Huguenots ; it turned many friends 
 into enemies, and necessarily drove Catherine into the arms of 
 the coalition. The Duke of Guise, only a few years before, 
 had by the capture of Calais expelled the English from the 
 "sacred soil" of France; and now the Huguenots were trai- 
 
 * Revue Retrospective, T. p. 81. 
 
 f Sommaire des Clioses accord&s entre les Dues de Guise, de Montmorenci et 
 Marechal Saint-Andre". Capefigue recognizes the authenticity of this atro- 
 cious document. 
 
 J Chaloner writes from Madrid (1st May, 15G2): "They devise how the 
 Guisians may be assisted, for .... the prevailment of that side importeth 
 them as the ball of their eyes." Haines : State Papers, p. 382. 
 
 Throckmorton writes: "The Pope hath lent 100,000 crowns, and doth 
 monthly pay besides 6000 soldiers." Forbes : State Papers, ii. p. 4. 
 
 o
 
 210 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 torously inviting them back. Unfortunately Elizabeth's be- 
 havior only served to strengthen the suspicions of the French 
 people. Her declared object was " to check the aspirations 
 of the Guisian conspirators, who Avould never be satisfied un- 
 til Scotland and England were united under one crown, and 
 that worn by Mary Stuart."* To the King of Spain she 
 wrote, immediately after signing the treaty, that her aim was 
 to preserve peace " by securing such ports as be next us from 
 them (Guisians), without intent of offense, to the king." f 
 But she did not preserve peace, and her actions did offend. 
 
 Hostilities broke out long before these negotiations were 
 concluded. By the middle of June the two armies were in the 
 field and ready for action. They were not large : that under 
 Navarre consisting of 4000 foot and 3000 horse, that under 
 Conde of 6000 foot and 2000 horse. The first movements 
 were favorable to the Catholics. Having frustrated an at- 
 tempt to surprise them, the royal forces prepared to attack 
 Orleans, the Huguenot head-quarters, by cutting it off from 
 the surrounding country. They retook Blois, Tours, Poitiers, 
 Angers, and Bourges, almost without striking a blow, signal- 
 izing the capture of these cities by atrocities which could 
 have been perpetrated only when the passions of a fierce sol- 
 diery were inflamed by religious fanaticism. At Blois a 
 Avoman found praying with some neighbors was tin-own into 
 the water, and as she floated was beaten with sticks and pelted 
 with stones until she died. An old man of seventy caught 
 reading the Bible was immediately massacred; another had 
 his eyes plucked out and was then knocked on the head ; an- 
 other was paraded through the city on an ass, with his face 
 to the tail, pelted, hooted, and drowned. The pastor Chasse- 
 bceuf was, by Guise's express order, hung up to a tree with- 
 out any form of triaLJ There was much in the appearance 
 
 * Forbes: Slate Papers, ii. pp. 16-20 r 22,25. 
 1 1 Lid. p. 54 ; see Latin version of letter, pp. 5-57. 
 t The popular tradition says that Chassebceuf was hanged after the St. 
 Bartholomew, by order of Henry of Guise.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 211 
 
 of Tours to rouse the fanaticism of the soldiery. For some 
 weeks the town had been in the hands of the Huguenots, who 
 seized upon the churches, stole the plate, broke the images 
 and ornaments, burned the service-books, desecrated the relics, 
 and ordered every ecclesiastic to leave the place in twenty- 
 four hours under pain of imprisonment. Contemporary records 
 describe the destruction of a " Calvary" of gold and azure, 
 one of the wonders of the world, which sixty years before had 
 cost the large sum of ten thousand ducats. The plunder of 
 the churches served to keep up the war. That of St. Martin 
 at Tours furnished Conde with 1,200,000 livres, without count- 
 ing the jewels in the shrines.* 
 
 When the king's authority was restored in Tours, mass 
 was ordered to be sung in St. Martin's Church, but every thing 
 in it had been broken or destroyed, except the stalls in the 
 choir and a few of the painted windows. This was on the 
 13th June, and on the 14th and 15th of the following month 
 the* massacre occurred. The interval is sufficient to show 
 that it was caused by something more than the usual mili- 
 tary license of those rough days. "We shall find a horrible 
 sameness in these stories: men and women, young and old, 
 were murdered indiscriminately; even children were not 
 spared. Boats filled with victims were sunk in the river ; thus 
 anticipating, by more than two centuries, the noyades of the 
 infamous Carrier. Three hundred persons were shut up in a 
 church, and after being kept there for three days without food, 
 were bound two and two and taken to the escorcherie (the 
 knacker's yard) and there killed. "Little children (whose 
 parents had been murdered) could be bought for a crown 
 apiece," adds D'Aubigne. In five or six days the banks of 
 the river down to Angers were covered with dead bodies, 
 " dont les bestes memes s'espouvantoyent," says Crespin, " at 
 
 * In order to disappoint the enemy, the clerpy often appropriated the 
 church treasures, and thus the circulating medium of the kingdom was 
 quadrupled. Brantome declares that "there was now in France more mil- 
 lions of gold than there had previously been livres of silver."
 
 212 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 which even the wild beasts were horror-stricken." After or- 
 der had been restored by the Duke of Montpensier, a minis- 
 ter was hanged for preaching a sermon not to the taste of his 
 hearers. Because the fronts of certain houses had not been 
 decorated with hangings during the procession of Corpus 
 Christi, some of the inhabitants were drowned, others impris- 
 oned, and in every case the houses were thoroughly gutted. 
 Two women were dragged to the river and flung into water 
 so shallow, that they could not drown, whereupon they were 
 beaten to death with oars and poles. Jean Bourgeau, presi- 
 dent of the city, was caught while attempting to escape in a 
 boat (30th Nov., 1562). He was first drowned and then hang- 
 ed to a tree and disemboweled, " because not only had he been 
 averse to punishing the heretics, but had moreover favored 
 them by adhering to their erroneous opinions and oppressing 
 the Catholics." * 
 
 From Tours the king's forces marched to Poitiers, which 
 fell after three days' cannonade, and Bourges surrendered aft- 
 er a siege of ten days. The terms of capitulation conceded 
 to the inhabitants were an amnesty for the past and liberty 
 of conscience according to the Edict of January. Orleans 
 was now quite insulated ; but the Catholic chiefs, instead of 
 following up their successes in that direction, drew off their 
 army to Rouen, through which they feared that English forces 
 s might be poured into the country. Rouen was at that time 
 one of the most important cities of France : there was none 
 in the north to equal it in commerce, wealth, and population. 
 Situated on the Seme, midway between its mouth and Paris, 
 it commanded the main highway into the interior ; and, so 
 long as it was in hostile hands, no serious attempt could be 
 made upon the strong city of Orleans. Strategical and politi- 
 
 * Paris : Cab. Hist. vi. p. 205. Pcrissin's vigorous engraving, " Le mas- 
 sacre fait a Tours par la populace, 1562," represents dead bodies lying naked 
 on the river bank- gnawed by dogs and birds; men in boats braining with 
 dubs such as tried to save themselves by swimming, soldiers shooting at 
 them in the water ; men tied to trees and disemboweled, etc.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 213 
 
 cal reasons being thus in favor of attacking Rouen, the royal 
 array, now 18,000 strong, under the orders of the constable, 
 sat down before the city on the 25th September. The Count 
 of Montgomery's garrison was about 4000 men, of whom 
 nearly half were English. The trenches were opened to the 
 sound of music, as was done more than once in the time of 
 Louis XIV. In the town, as in the Huguenot armies gener- 
 ally, all was serious and severe ; prayer-meetings and ser- 
 mons with psalm-singing were the amusements of the garrison, 
 who, like the Covenanters and Puritans, fought none the 
 worse because they had bent the knee to God before march- 
 ing to battle. The siege was pressed vigorously, for the cold 
 nights and heavy rains of autumn were approaching, when 
 the royal army would be unable to keep the field. The citi- 
 zens of Paris, who were anxious to recover a city which in- 
 terrupted all traffic w r ith the sea, offered the king 200,000 
 crowns to pay and victual the besiegiAg force.* Catherine, 
 attended by her licentious maids of honor her " flying 
 squadron," as they were afterward called visited the army 
 to encourage the troops by her presence. It is said that she 
 went every day to Fort St. Catherine, where the fire was hot- 
 test; and when the constable and Guise remonstrated with 
 her, representing that it was not her duty to expose her life, 
 she answered : " Why should I spare myself more than you ? 
 Have I less interest in the result, or less courage ? True, I* 
 have not your strength of body, but I have equal resolution 
 of mind." The soldiers called her " mater castrorum." 
 
 On the 26th October the breach was stormed. The fatigued 
 and overmatched garrison made but a feeble resistance, 
 and the city was won. Montgomery escaped, but those who 
 remained had to suffer all the extremities of a town abandon- 
 ed to the passions of an unscrupulous soldiery. The command- 
 ers had forbidden all pillage for the besieged, though reb- 
 els, were still the king's subjects but the indiscipline of the 
 
 * Vie de Coliyny, p. 269.
 
 214: MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 army was too strong. The Swiss mercenaries obeyed the or- 
 der, "but the French soldiers would sooner be killed than 
 come away so long as there was any thing to take." For 
 three days the license endured, when the king, attended by 
 his mother and the parliament, made his triumphal entry 
 through the breach, and put -an end to the outrages of the 
 soldiery.* 
 
 And now the hour of vengeance had come. The Catholics 
 remembered how, one Sunday in May, the Huguenots, in the 
 exultation of their triumph, had sacked and defaced the cathe- 
 dral and thirty-six parish churches. " They made such work," 
 says Beza, " that they left neither altar nor image, font nor 
 benitier." f That this was not the act of a lawless mob, or of 
 a sudden excitement, but of calmness and deliberation, is prob- 
 able from what happened about the same time at Caen, in 
 the same province, where the minister Cousin told the judges 
 " that this idolatry had been put up with too long, and that it 
 must be trampled down." And here the destroyers, after scat- 
 tering the ashes of "William the Conqueror, breaking or- 
 gans, pictures, pulpits, and statues, to the estimated value of 
 100,000 crowns, had the impudence to ask the town council to 
 pay them for their two days' work which was done.J At 
 Rouen, the anger of the Catholic soldiery was increased by 
 the conduct of the Huguenot clergy, who had refused the 
 honorable terms of surrender which had been offered them, 
 declaring that Heaven would work a miracle, if all human 
 means should fail, to prevent their falling into the hands of 
 the Romanists. That miracle was not worked, and one of the 
 first victims of this tampering with the Divine will was Mar- 
 
 * For an English account of the siege, see Forbes : State Papers, pp. 
 117-127. 
 
 t La Poupeliere, whom some writers have confounded with the historian, 
 La Popelinierc, says : "En tous les rencontres de ceux de la religion, il a 
 fait piller, no laissant quo les murailles et que les terres qui ne se pouraicnt 
 cm porter." Canton (T A this, p. 44. 
 
 J Cf. De Bras de Bourgcvillc, a contemporary. Mem. de I'Acad. <h Caen, 
 1852.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 215 
 
 lorat, chief pastor of the city. He had been an Augustine 
 monk, and, leaving his convent, escaped to Geneva, where he 
 abjured Romanism. Apostate as he was in the eyes of the 
 Catholics, he was permitted to appear at the conference of 
 Poissy, where he acted as the Protestant leader until Beza 
 arrived. Such an instance of toleration ought not to be over- 
 looked. 
 
 When Rouen fell, Marlorat hid himself, but his hiding- 
 place was betrayed, and he was imprisoned. The constable 
 went to visit him in his dungeon, and charged him with se- 
 ducing the people. " If I have, God seduced me first," he 
 answered ; " for I have preached nothing but his pure word." 
 He suffered in company with two of his flock, exhorting them 
 to the last. The high bailiff swore a terrible oath, and struck 
 him with his official staff to make him hold his tongue ; and, 
 as he was hanging, a soldier hacked his legs. Beza, who re- 
 cords these things, traces the finger of trod in the misfortunes 
 that subsequently befell Marlorat's persecutors : " The captain 
 who betrayed him was killed three weeks after ; two of his 
 judges died of strange diseases ; the soldier who hacked his 
 legs was killed by a sword ; and the high bailiff in his cups 
 quarreled with Marshal Vieilleville, Avho cut off the hand with 
 which he had struck the martyr." Many other victims fell be- 
 sides the pastors, and the prisons were so crammed with pious 
 men and women that Brevedent, the lieutenant of police, 
 thought it his duty to remonstrate : " Why do you crowd the 
 dungeons ?" he asked. " Can you doubt what you ought to 
 do ? Is the river yet full ?" 
 
 In the course of the siege, Anthony of Navarre received a 
 bullet wound in his shoulder, of which he died on the 17th 
 November at Andelys.* During his feverish wanderings, he 
 talked to his attendants of the orange groves of his expected 
 kingdom of Sardinia, and of the golden sands of its rivers. 
 
 * "Par 1'oreillc, 1'dpanle, et 1'ceil Dieu a mis trois rois :ui cercueil;" 
 meaning Francis II., Navarre, and Henry II.
 
 216 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 No wife with loving hand smoothed his dying-pillow. She 
 was far away in the south, training up her children in all god- 
 liness ; but his mistress, Louise de Rouet, stayed with him to 
 the last. Her character of him is by no means nattering: 
 " The prince (she said) changed his religion and party almost 
 as easily as he changed mistresses." After he had received 
 extreme unction, his uneasy conscience would not let him 
 rest. " Read me a chapter of the Bible," he said to his physi- 
 cian ; and after the latter had read a portion of Scripture, An- 
 thony interrupted him, and with tears in his eyes exclaimed : 
 " If I do but get well, I will cause the Gospel to be preached 
 throughout France." But his good resolutions, if sincere, 
 came too late ; and, at the age of forty-four, he died regretted 
 by neither party. Gamier mentions a curious peculiarity of 
 this unworthy king without a kingdom : he was so irresistibly 
 given to pilfering that, after he had gone to bed, the pages 
 used to search his pockets in order to restore the property he 
 had stolen. 
 
 Conde was much grieved at the Rouen cruelties, particular- 
 ly with the hanging of Marlorat and others, and ordered three 
 persons to be hanged in retaliation.* The army, also, was so 
 exasperated, that they massacred all the priests they found in 
 Pluviers; and when the Catholics contended that the king 
 might hang his rebellious subjects, they replied that "his 
 name shrouded other men's malice, wherefore, according to 
 the proverb, they would make such bread such brewisse" 
 The prince's jest is well known : " Our enemies have given us 
 two shrewd checks in taking our rooks (meaning Rouen and 
 Bourges), but I hope that now we may catch their knights, if 
 they take the field." But he was caught himself. 
 
 The fall of Rouen not only did not restore peace, but the 
 province of Normandy became more disturbed than ever. 
 Both parties were eqiially violent, equally unscrupulous. They 
 
 * Jean de Troyes, abbot of Gastines, and Sapin, a councillor of parlia- 
 ment. The life of a third, Odo de Selves, was spared, but he died a few 
 days after of fright.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 217 
 
 burned or plundered each other's houses and farmsteads. 
 The neighborhood of Rouen became a wide waste, and the 
 people were reduced to beggary.* The government took ad- 
 vantage of their success to make a display of generosity which, 
 had it been sincere, might have terminated the war. A royal 
 edict promised a full and complete amnesty to all who had 
 taken up arms, on condition that they ceased to attend Prot- 
 estant sermons, and conformed outwardly to Catholicism. 
 The numerous exceptions to this act of grace included the 
 heads of the party, persons notoriously seditious, and such as 
 had profaned the churches. A few gentlemen accepted these 
 terms, but the vast majority saw that the edict was a mere 
 trick to separate the army from its leaders. 
 
 Battles and sieges now followed in quick succession, and in 
 all parts of France at once. Conde, who had been reinforced 
 by 4000 lansquenets and 300 reiters, brought from Germany 
 by Andelot, after threatening Paris had moved into Norman- 
 dy, in order to meet the auxiliaries, about 3000 in number, 
 promised by Queen Elizabeth. He was followed by the 
 Duke of Guise, who came up with him on the banks of the 
 Eure, a long narrow plain separating the two armies. The 
 force under Conde amounted to 5000 foot and 8000 horse, 
 while that under Guise consisted of 16,000 foot and 3000 
 horse.f The latter fortified "against all chances" the pet- 
 ty town of Dreux, at the foot of a hill on whose top there 
 stood a castle even then of some antiquity. A small stream 
 ran through the plain, which was covered with wood, with 
 here and there a hamlet of a few houses. Early in that dark 
 winter's morning (19th December) Conde prepared for battle. 
 The prince went through the ranks exhorting his followers to 
 do their duty as became Christians and loyal subjects, for they 
 
 * " Errantset vacables par les champs." Floquet : Hist, du Parl. de. Norm. 
 ii. p. 408. The Reyistres of the H6tel-de-Ville of Rouen (4th Nov., 15G2) 
 contain a conciliatory letter from Catherine worthy of more attention than 
 it has hitherto received. 
 
 t Castelnau, p. 125; Throckmorton to Queen, 3d January, 1563, in 
 Forbes, State Papers, pp. 251, 263, 276.
 
 218 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 were fighting not against the king, but against his evil ad- 
 visers ; and reminded them of their parents and friends burn- 
 ed and massacred. After singing a psalm, wherein the God 
 of Israel summons his people to avenge his cause, the troops 
 knelt down in prayer, and as soon as the chaplain had ended, 
 the whole army thundered out Amen ! For two hours the 
 armies remained face to face within cannon-shot. "Every 
 man stood fast," says La Noue, " imagining in himself that 
 they that came against him were no Spaniards, Englishmen, 
 or Italians, but Frenchmen, and those of the bravest ; among 
 whom were their companions, friends, and kinsfolks, and also 
 that within one hour they were to slay each other. This bred 
 some horror, nevertheless, without quailing in courage, they 
 thus stayed until the armies moved to join." About one 
 o'clock, Conde gave the signal to advance : before sunset it 
 was all over. Heading the attack in person, he cut through 
 the enemy's line, captured some of his cannon, and took the 
 constable prisoner. But, like Rupert at Edgehill, he followed 
 up the pursuit so eagerly and so far, that he left his infant- 
 ry exposed.* The Duke of Guise saw the opportunity, and 
 sweeping down upon them with the cry of " They are ours ! 
 they are ours !" drove the German footmen off the field. f 
 The native Huguenot infantry, now uncovered, resisted stout- 
 ly, but suffered in proportion. Meanwhile Conde, who was 
 making his way back to the point of danger, fell to the ground 
 in a small hedge-row, and before he could extricate himself 
 from his horse, which had been knocked down by a bullet, a 
 troop of Damville'sJ brigade came up and took him prisoner. 
 Coligny, who had been trying to make up for the prince's 
 rashness, saw that all was over, and made preparations to save 
 the relics of the defeated army. Gathering round him the 
 
 * "The cavalry left their ranks, thinking it no shame to enrich themselves 
 with the spoils of the Papists." Vie de Coligny, p. 277. 
 
 t Montaigne, liv. i. ch. xlv. (De la Battnille de Dreux}, highly extols this 
 movement, comparing it with that where Philopocmen defeated Machanidas. 
 
 J Damville was the constable's second son.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 219 
 
 few troops that remained unbroken, he flung himself between 
 the fugitives and the pursuing foe, to whom he presented 
 such a resolute face that Guise dared not attack him. There 
 is a story to the effect, that when the duke's friends advised 
 him to pursue the Huguenots, he said, " Peace, peace ; I have 
 to fight with a worse beast than all the Huguenots put to- 
 gether." He meant Catherine de Medicis. Several fierce 
 charges were made upon the Huguenot rear-guard, in one of 
 which St. Andre was captured, and afterward murdered in 
 cold blood.* Although a drawn battle f the number of 
 killed and wounded, according to a statement by Ambrose 
 Pare, was enormous : " I saw the earth covered for a good 
 league all round," he says ; " they were reckoned at 2500 men 
 at the outside. All that had \)QCTL polished off in less than two 
 hours."J Until 1 789 a solemn procession took place every year 
 at Dreux to commemorate this triumph of the Catholic cause. 
 When the news of this battle reached Paris, the citizens 
 gave way to transports of delight. The houses were illumi- 
 nated ; Te Deums were sung in the churches ; salvos of ar- 
 tillery were fired from the Bastille. The Duke of Guise was 
 made lieutenant-general and decorated with the Order of the 
 Holy Ghost. Catherine shared the common joy, and when 
 the good tidings reached Trent, where the council was sit- 
 ting, they clapped their hands in exultation. The Catholics 
 
 * "The constable, so hated by the Keformed, had met with the same 
 fate, but for the interference of a gentleman named Vesines, who showed 
 them the baseness of the act." Vie de Coliyny, p. 277. 
 
 f " Ita tantse pugnas exitum moderatus est Deus, neutra uti pars victa aut 
 victrix dici possit." Eytzinger, p. 43 ; Throckmorton's letter in Forbes, p. 
 251 ; and Andelot's on p. 263. 
 
 J Pare' : (Euvres, p. 796 (fol. Lyons, 1641). La None estimates the killed 
 alone at 9000 ; but nothing can be more hap-hazard than the way in which 
 writers of the period speak of numbers. Jean de Serres says the prince lost 
 about 2200 foot and 150 horse. 800 gentlemen alone were killed. Forbes, 
 p. 276. Beza speaks of 150 horse killed and taken ; but on the enemy's 
 side " infinita sunt vnlnera ct coedcs maxima." Walsingham reckons the 
 admiral's force after the battle as 5000 horse and 2000 foot, while Guise 
 had 3000 horse and 16,000 foot." Forbes, p. 259. Coligny writes to 
 Elizabeth : " Notre cavalcric cst intacte."
 
 220 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 had, indeed, every reason to exult, for if victory had declared 
 in favor of the Huguenots, the fortunes of France might have 
 changed with its religion. " Well, then, we still have to say 
 our prayers in French," said Catherine, when the first re- 
 ports of the battle assigned the victory to Conde. 
 
 Both armies now retired to winter-quarters : Coligny lead- 
 ing the remnant of the Huguenot forces to Orleans, and Guise 
 returning to Paris with an escort of 2400 Spanish arquebus- 
 iers. Now that St. Andre was killed and Montmorency a 
 prisoner, the duke found himself the most powerful man in 
 the kingdom. Reorganizing his troops and being strongly 
 reinforced, he marched out early next year to lay siege to Or- 
 leans, for winter brought little cessation to the strife. Co- 
 ligny, who was in great want of money, had moved into Nor- 
 mandy, to re-open his communications with England, having 
 left his brother Andelot in command of the city. The latter-, 
 though suffering severely from a quartan ague, took the most 
 active measures of defense ; but Guise was no mean soldier, 
 and had had large experience in sieges. He captured one of 
 the suburbs by assault ; his lines drawing closer every day ef- 
 fectually cut off aU succor ; the admiral was too weak to at- 
 tempt to raise the siege, and the duke had fixed the final at- 
 tack for the 1 9th February. Writing to the queen-regent, lie 
 expressed a hope that she would not be displeased if he de- 
 stroyed every thing within the walls, "even to the dogs and 
 rats," and sowed the foundations of the city with salt. It is 
 probable that there would have been a terrible massacre ; but 
 just as all hope seemed lost, the hand of an assassin brought 
 deliverance (18th February, 1563). On his death-bed Duke 
 Francis attempted to justify himself for the atrocities at Vas- 
 sy, protesting that he had neither premeditated nor ordered 
 them. But death-bed confessions are rarely authentic enough 
 to be relied on : they 'are too often colored by the report of 
 interested witnesses.* On this point Maimbourg and Varil- 
 
 * Martin thinks the account of the Bishop of Riez "evidemmcnt arrange, 
 gurtoiit en ce qui regardc Vassi." Hist. France, ix. p. 152, note.
 
 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 221 
 
 las are at variance the latter affirming that the duke prayed 
 God to pardon all his faults, " except that of Vassy." He is 
 also reported to have sent a message to the queen-regent, ad- 
 vising her to make peace without delay, adding that " the 
 man who would prevent it is an enemy to the king and state." 
 The near approach of death had probably brought that wis- 
 dom and calm judgment in which he was so deficient, for 
 only a month earlier Throckmorton wrote of him : " The duke 
 will in no wise accord to peace till the Protestants be utterly 
 exterminated." * When Catherine heard the news of his 
 murder, she spoke her mind pretty plainly about him : " The 
 man is dead I hated most of all the world." And when 
 Conde characterized his death as the removal of a burden, she 
 continued : " If the kingdom has been relieVed of one bur- 
 den, ten have been taken off my bosom." 
 
 The murderer was Jean Poltrot de Mere, a gentleman of 
 Angoumois and a convert to the Reformed faith, whose tem- 
 per had been soured by misfortune. Imagining the Duke of 
 Guise to be the great obstacle to the victory of the Huguenot 
 cause, he determined upon his assassination, and after watch- 
 ing him for several days, succeeded in shooting his victim as 
 he was passing, slenderly escorted, through a wood.f Poltrot 
 fled, and would probably have escaped ; but not knowing the 
 country, he rode round and round until he returned nearly to 
 the spot where he had fired at the duke. lie was soon cap- 
 tured and taken to Paris, where, after being tortured to force 
 him to reveal the names of his accomplices, he was sentenced 
 to a cruel death. He was dragged to the place of execution 
 on a hurdle, surrounded by a strong guard to prevent his 
 being torn in pieces by the populace. His right hand was cut 
 off, his flesh torn by pincers, and melted lead poured into the 
 wounds. His limbs were then tied to four horses, who, pull- 
 ing in opposite directions, endeavored -to tear him asunder; 
 but they pulled in vain, until the hangman severed the muscles 
 
 * Forbes, p. 277. t Hid, pp. 339 and 343.
 
 222 MASSACRE or ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 with a sword. Finally his head was cut off and his body 
 burned to ashes. 
 
 While stretched upon the rack in the torture-chamber, Pol- 
 trot acknowledged that he had been bribed by Coligny to kill 
 the duke. It is true he had been much in the Huguenot 
 camp, and the admiral had given him money to purchase a 
 horse circumstances that tended to corroborate his confes- 
 sion ; but his hasty execution, without confronting him with 
 the admiral, or giving the latter an opportunity of vindicat- 
 ing himself, was highly suspicious. Some persons have sup- 
 posed that the queen-regent had a share in the murder, on the 
 ground that she once said (or is reported to have said) to Ta- 
 vannes : " The Guises wished to make themselves kings, but I 
 took good care of them before Orleans." Both suspicions are 
 equally baseless, but the Guise family persisted in charging 
 Coligny with the murder ; and it must be acknowledged that 
 the admiral's conduct and language were not altogether satis- 
 factory. In his remarks on Poltrot's interrogatory he says, 
 that when some one declared he would kill the duke in the 
 midst of his soldiers, he had not discouraged him (ne 1'avait 
 point detourne), adding that he remembered well his last meet- 
 ing with Poltrot, who went so far as to say that it would be 
 easy to kill M. de Guise, and that he (Coligny) had made no re- 
 ply to it, " considering it to be mere idle talk." In a letter to the 
 queen-mother, which accompanied these remarks, he says : 
 " During the last few months, I have no longer contested the 
 matter against those who displayed such intentions, because I 
 had information that certain persons had been practiced upon 
 to kill me .... Do not imagine, however, that what I say 
 proceeds from any regret which the duke's death occasions 
 me. No, far from that, I esteem it the greatest blessing that 
 could possibly have befallen this kingdom, the Church of God, 
 and more especially myself and all my house." * This leaves 
 no doubt that Coligny assented, if he did not consent to the 
 
 * Schardius redivivus (fol. 1673): Resjionsio, in. p. 113; Ejristola, iii. 119.
 
 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 223 
 
 crime. He was not unwilling to profit by it, though he would 
 do nothing to further it. This may diminish the lofty moral 
 pedestal on which some writers have placed the Protestant 
 hero ; but he was a man, and had all a man's failings, though 
 he may have controlled them by his religious principles. 
 Nor was assassination considered at all cowardly or disgrace- 
 ful in those days ; not more so than killing a man in a duel 
 Avas until very recently among us. 
 
 The news of the duke's murder was received with a cry of 
 horror among the Catholic party. Pius IV. ordered a magnif- 
 icent funeral ceremony to be performed in St. Peter's, and 
 Julius Poggianus, in his sermon on the occasion, comparing 
 Francis to Judas Maccaba3us, called him the preserver of 
 France. In a funeral service at Notre Dame in Paris, the 
 vicar-general of Rouen extolled the duke, but would not pray 
 for him, " car fait injure au martyr qui prie pour le martyr." 
 He treated Guise as a sort of demi-god, and declared that 
 nothing restrained him from reckoning the murdered man 
 among the saints but his respect for the pope, who had not yet 
 canonized him.* On the other hand, these honors only served 
 to call forth a torrent of vituperation from his enemies. 
 The murder was openly defended, Poltrot was compared to 
 Judith, and ballads were sung in his praise.f He was called 
 
 L'exemple merveilleux 
 
 D'unc extreme vaillance, 
 Le dixieme des preux, 
 
 Liberatcur de France. 
 
 In another ballad we are told that 
 
 Dicu suscita le vaillant de Mere, 
 Qui le Guisart a massacre'. 
 
 Even Beza conferred on him the martyr's crown, and Cecil 
 
 * Labitte, p. 15. 
 
 t Paris : Cab. Hist. ii. p. 280 ; iii. p. 46 ; Vie de CoKyny, p. 289 ; Recutil 
 dcs Chants Hist. Paris, 1842.
 
 224 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 " was very glad to hear of the duke's hurt, and could wish 
 his soul in heaven."* 
 
 The times were favorable for peace. The Duke of Guise 
 dead and the constable a prisoner, there was no one to take 
 the command of the royal army. " I was obliged to com- 
 mand it myself," said Catherine, " for Brissac was so ill that 
 he could not leave his bed." On the other hand, the Prince 
 of Conde, with all his desire for liberty, was unwilling to 
 change " the soft air of the court and the smiles of the ladies " 
 for the austerities of the Huguenot camp. His offer to become 
 the channel of negotiations betAveen the two religions was ac- 
 cepted, though not without opposition from the embassadors 
 of Philip II. and the pope, Avho were for continuing the war- 
 The Duke of Tuscany expressed his dissatisfaction at the 
 negotiations ; and the queen-regent, to quiet them, seems to 
 have hinted that the pacification would be only a trap. 
 Santa Croce writes : " If any opportunity is found of infring- 
 ing the articles of this treaty, they will not be kept .... 
 Should the queen do as she promises, means will be found 
 of punishing these people when they are disarmed and dis- 
 persed." But the peace party was too strong, and the terms- 
 of a treaty were soon agreed upon. Before finally accepting 
 them, the Prince of Conde consulted the synod then assembled 
 at Orleans; but that impracticable body, while claiming 
 absolute liberty for themselves, would have denied it to those 
 whom they called " atheists, libertines, and anabaptists." As it 
 would have been useless to attempt to reconcile the extreme 
 fanatics on both sides, the Pacification of Amboise was signed 
 on the 19th March, 1563. The right of public worship con- 
 ceded by the Edict of January was greatly restricted, the 
 Huguenots being no longer permitted to assemble outside 
 the walls of the cities, but only in a single place within every 
 bailliage inhabited by Protestant nobles and their retainers. 
 On the other hand, one clause expressly bore that " every man 
 
 * Wright's Elizabeth, i. 125.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 225 
 
 should live at liberty in his own house, without search or 
 molestation, and without being vexed or constrained for con- 
 science' sake." Although the treaty was acceptable to the 
 majority of the Huguenot party, who were growing tired of 
 the war, all were not equally pleased. The admiral, who had 
 protested against it, characterized it by a single phrase: 
 " That stroke of the pen throws down more churches than the 
 enemy's soldiers could have destroyed in ten years." 
 
 Notwithstanding the insinuations of Cardinal Santa Croce, 
 that " she would pacify every thing in a few hours whenever 
 she pleased," * there does not appear to be any reason to doubt 
 Catherine's sincerity. It was her interest to pacify the coun- 
 try in a sense very different from that intended by the papal 
 envoy : she had something more to fear than the hostility of 
 the Huguenots. Spain was looking on, eager to take advan- 
 tage of the distresses of France, and a continuation of the war 
 could bring nothing but disaster whichever side prevailed. 
 Less than a year of civil strife had been sufficient to exhaust 
 the finances of the country, to accumulate an immense debt, to 
 destroy commerce, and to throw half the land out of cultiva- 
 tion. Castelnau's testimony in this matter is indisputable : 
 " Agriculture was abandoned ; multitudes of towns and vil- 
 lages, pillaged and burned, were deserted, and the poor laborers, 
 driven from their homes, dispoiled of their furniture and cat- 
 tle, robbed to-day by one party, to-morrow by another, fled 
 like wild beasts, leaving all they had to the mercy of those 
 who were without mercy. Commerce was quite given up : 
 no one was secure of his property or life. . . . Thus the 
 war, undertaken for religion, annihilated religion and piety." f 
 
 * Letter dated 29th March, 1563. 
 
 t Correro, the Venetian ambassador, writes : " Come cominciorno a rubare, 
 rovinare e ammazzare, usando mille crudelta, questo fu avvcrtimcnto alle 
 povere gente, che da loro istessi cominciorno a dire : Ma che rcligionc e 
 questa? Costoro che fanno professione d' intender meglio 1'evangelio di 
 nissnno altra, e dove trovano mai che Cristo comandasse che se pigliasse la 
 robba del prossimo c si ammazzasse il compagno ? E con simili considera- 
 
 P
 
 226 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 " The Catholics," adds Claude Haton, " were as great thieves 
 and brigands as the Huguenots." The husbandman, no longer 
 able to till his fields in safety, either joined the army orturned 
 robber a difference more in name than in reality. In many 
 parts they banded together to protect themselves, but they 
 soon became little better than brigands, attacking travelers, 
 and ransoming the smaller towns and villages. In the Ven- 
 domois they were so violent that the gentlemen of the prov- 
 ince united to repress their excesses and restore order, put- 
 ting at their head the poet Ilonsard, a gentleman and also a 
 parish priest. " There are too many people in France," shout- 
 ed the leader of one of the wild gangs called Barefeet (Pieds- 
 Nus) ; " we will kill a lot of them and make bread cheap." * 
 These ruffians committed horrible atrocities in Champagne, 
 sacking the houses of rich and poor alike, killing the men 
 and reserving the women for a worse fate. At Ceant-en- 
 Othe, inhabited chiefly by Protestants, they burned the vil- 
 lagers alive in their cottages. A poor girl, after enduring un- 
 utterable barbarities, was covered with straw and roasted alive, 
 as they would have scorched a dead pig. One man was 
 tied to a post and used as a target for their arquebuses. 
 
 Trade suffered not less than agriculture, for commerce can 
 not thrive without the security of peace and law. Inter- 
 course between town and town was almost entirely cut off, 
 for the highways were no longer safe except to strong bodies 
 of armed men. Tradesmen and mechanics, therefore, quitted 
 their counters and workshops for the camp ; and members of 
 the inferior clergy, whose revenues had been extinguished by 
 the troubled state of affairs, flung aside the frock and assumed 
 the cuirass. And as if to make the confusion more com- 
 
 zioni si frenevano, ne pin si precipitavnno come prima." Tommaseo, ii. p. 
 118. 
 
 * Jean de Serres puts a similar repl y into the mouth of the Duke of Guise, 
 when a complaint was made to him that, in these "uncivil tumults" many 
 Catholics were slain: "There is no remedy," he made answer; "we have 
 too much people in France. I will deal so as victuals shall be good cheap." 
 Hist. p. 703(transl.).
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 227 
 
 plete, justice could not be administered, so much were the tri- 
 bunals overawed everywhere. In Paris the anarchy seems to 
 have been complete, each man being a law to himself. Not 
 even in the terrible revolution that closed the eighteenth 
 century were the bonds of society more thoroughly relaxed. 
 
 The royal edict which carried out the provisions of the 
 treaty of Amboise met with considerable opposition from the 
 Catholics. At first, all the parliaments of the kingdom re- 
 fused to register it, and their resistance was only to be over- 
 come by the direct intervention of the crown. The Parlia- 
 ment of Paris yielded under protest ; that of Dijon would not 
 give way. The Duke of Aumale, brother t<5 the murdered 
 Francis of Guise, and governor of Burgundy, supported the 
 parliament in their resistance, and declared, " There shall 
 sooner be two suns in heaven than two religions in my gov- 
 ernment." When the municipality of Amiens was in due 
 course instructed to act in conformity with the edict, they 
 pleaded that the instructions were insufficient, and put them 
 aside until the king wrote to them in a tone that was not to 
 be trifled with. The disappointment of the fanatic Catholics 
 is manifest from a plot formed by a " fraternal association " 
 to massacre all the Huguenots in the capital. All not of the 
 Guise faction, and such as were moderate either in religion or 
 politics, were termed " suspects," and as such condemned to 
 be sacrificed. L'Hopital, " the traitor chancellor," and Mont- 
 morency, " le mauvais riche," were to be the first victims. 
 The plot was discovered and frustrated by Joan of Navarre, 
 and some of the most violent of the civic conspirators 
 were hanged at their own windows without any form of 
 trial.* 
 
 The pope did not openly protest against the Pacification of 
 Amboise, but virtually condemned it by a bull to the cardinal 
 
 * The particulars of this plot are given in a letter from Claude of Lorraine 
 to Damville, the date of which has been fraudulently altered from 15C3 to 
 1560. See Vauvilliers, i. 315. Tavannes says the plot was concocted at 
 Trent by the cardinal, and Lcstoile dates the League from this period.
 
 228 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 inquisitors-general (7th April, 1563), permitting them to take 
 proceedings against heretics and their supporters, even in the 
 states beyond their jurisdiction. The opposition of the court of 
 Spain was entirely selfish. Philip II. knew that peace in France 
 was dangerous to tyranny in the Netherlands. Strength- 
 ened by his discontent, the Spanish faction openly set the trea- 
 ty at defiance. The government, however, was sincere in its 
 desire for tranquillity, and Catherine labored earnestly to con- 
 ciliate the malcontents. When Jacques Philippeaux was sent 
 to Gap, he called upon the Huguenots to deliver up their arms, 
 but granted them liberty of conscience, and permitted them 
 to bury their dead in the general cemetery with their own 
 forms and ceremonies, until another place could be provided. 
 But such instances of toleration and charity were rare ; for 
 France was like the sea, where the waves continue to rise long 
 after the storm has ceased. 
 
 Early in the course of the war, Coligny had the misfortune 
 to lose his son after a short illness of six days. He felt the 
 blow keenly, and to comfort his wife, who took it very much to 
 heart, he wrote the following letter : " Although you may 
 grieve over the loss of our dear child, yet I must remind you 
 that, as it was God's pleasure to take him, so it should be ours 
 to obey His will. He was a good child, and we might have 
 entertained great hopes of one so well conducted ; but re- 
 member, dearest, that we can not live without offending God, 
 and that our boy is happy in dying at an age when he was 
 exempt from sin. It was God's will, and I offer Him my oth- 
 er children, if it be His pleasure. Do the same, if you desire 
 He should bless you, for in Hun we should place all our hope. 
 Farewell, my dearly beloved. I hope to see you shortly, 
 which will be a great joy to me."
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 229 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CHAOS. 
 
 [1562-1563.] 
 
 Nature of the Struggle Montluc His Barbarity Des Adrets His Feroc- 
 ity Murders at Gaillac The Reform in Provence and Languedoc 
 Scenes at Orange Revolt at Valence Disturbances at Lyons Compro- 
 mise La Rochelle Massacre at Toulouse Exodus of Sisteron Sauter- 
 ies of Macon Limoux Palm Sunday at Castelnaudary The Monks of 
 St. Calais Violence in Berry The Chatelaine of Avallon The Proctor 
 of Bar Atrocities of the Bishop of Le Mans and his Lieutenant Hugue- 
 not Cruelties at Dieppe and Bayeux Angouleme Quarrels at Court 
 Siege of Havre Duplicity of English Government Charles Proclaimed 
 of Age His Character Council of Trent. 
 
 WHILE the events we have described in the preceding chap- 
 ter were taking place in the north and west of France, the 
 rest of that beautiful land was a prey to anarchy and all the 
 direst evils of civil war. In our favored country, where inter- 
 necine strife has been so long unknown, and where, even in its 
 worst days, Englishmen never forgot that they were brothers, 
 we can hardly picture to ourselves the frightful condition of 
 France during the whole reign of Charles IX. A few scat- 
 tered incidents must be taken as a sample of the hideous mass 
 of horrors : to repeat a tenth part of them would sicken and 
 disgust the least sensitive of readers. 
 
 Foremost among the blood-stained heroes of these cruel 
 scenes are two personages, distinct yet alike, to whom no par- 
 allel can be found except in the sanguinary butchers of the 
 Revolution of 1789. They are Montluc and Des Adrets. 
 
 Blaise de Montluc had distinguished himself in the Italian 
 wars of Francis I. He had been made prisoner at Pavia, and 
 had decided the wavering fortunes of Cerisoles. As lieuten-
 
 230 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 ant of Guyenne he was ordered to reduce that province to 
 submission, and he did it in a very characteristic manner, 
 putting his Huguenot prisoners to death without permitting 
 them to say a word, " for they have golden tongues." Terror 
 was his great weapon, and he used to boast that any one could 
 know which way he had passed by the " marks " he left upon 
 the trees by the roadside, adding, with a grim smile, that 
 "one man hanging frightens more than a hundred slain." 
 His "Commentaries," an autobiographical sketch, which he 
 composed when years and disease prevented his using the 
 sword any longer, are a curious illustration of the state of 
 mind to which a man can be brought who makes mere milita- 
 ry discipline the principle of his actions. Reform was insub- 
 ordination ; " obedience to the king's edict or death " he al- 
 lowed no middle course. One day he hanged six prisoners 
 without a minute's delay. " Why," said the terrified neigh- 
 bors when they heard of it, " he puts men to death without 
 trial." What need of trial ? he would have replied ; you are 
 in arms against the king. At St. Mezard four prisoners were 
 brought before him as he stood in the church-yard, his two 
 executioners behind him with their swords drawn; they 
 always accompanied him, with cords and other implements of 
 their office. One of the prisoners was charged with seditious 
 language. Montluc caught him violently by the throat: 
 "Rascal, how dare you insult the king with your ribald 
 tongue?" " Mercy, mercy !" cried the man. "What! expect 
 me to spare you when you have not spared your king !" And, 
 in a towering passion, Montluc threw the poor wretch to the 
 ground, his head falling on a broken monument. "Strike, 
 scoundrel!" roared Blaise to one of his executioners; and at 
 the word the sword fell, decapitating the man, and chipping a 
 fragment of stone from the slab. Two others were hanged 
 on a tree hard by,, and the fourth was scourged so severely 
 that he died a few days after. Montluc complacently adds, 
 " And this was the first execution I ordered after starting 
 from home, without trial or sentence, for I have heard say
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 231 
 
 that in these matters you should hang first. ... It shut 
 the mouths of many seditious people." He avenged M. Fu- 
 mel's murder by hanging or breaking on the wheel in one day 
 between thirty and forty persons, innocent as well as guilty. 
 The hot-headed Huguenots of the south retaliated at Cahors 
 by hanging as many Catholics as they could catch, fourteen or 
 fifteen in number, who had assisted Montluc in his atrocities. 
 At Gironde he made a capture of some eighty Huguenots, of 
 whom he hanged seventy to the pillars of the market-house 
 " sans autre ceremonie." Describing his doings' at the village 
 of Feugaroles, he says : " We were so few that we were not 
 able to kill all: the bandoliers shot them down like game." 
 In one of his expeditions he fell in with the Queen of Navarre, 
 who received him very badly, and to his great surprise " called 
 him a tyrant," and otherwise reproached him. His ferocity 
 he considered a virtue, and justified his cruelty as necessary 
 to get the better of his enemies. " God," he adds, " must be 
 very merciful to us, considering the evils we commit." * 
 He was thankful not without reason, for at the end of the war 
 he was richer by 100,000 crowns. 
 
 Still more ferocious, and, if possible, with still fewer redeem- 
 ing qualities, was Francois de Beaumont, baron des Adrets, 
 whose name is still used in the south to scare naughty children. 
 Ostensibly he was a Protestant, but in reality a mere agent of 
 the queen-mother against the Lorraine party.f He would 
 sometimes amuse himself by making his prisoners leap from 
 the top of a tower, or from a high window, on the pikes of 
 his soldiers stationed below. On one occasion it was at 
 
 * Blaise de Montluc : Commentaires (Pantheon Litte'raire, Paris, 1836). His 
 shattered monument may still be seen at Estillac near Agen. The warrior, 
 armed from head to foot, lies bare-headed on a marble slab, his arms crossed 
 over his breast; his features are coarse and bold, his beard and mustache 
 thick and lonp. 
 
 t The Abbe Caveyrac in his Apology for Louis XIV. (note, p. 7) says of 
 the subsequent recantation of this blood-thirsty renegade, that " he returned 
 sincerely to God." Let us hope he did, but on better grounds than Cavey- 
 rac's word for it.
 
 232 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 Montbrison, in August, 1562 a prisoner hesitated, upon 
 which Des Adrets reproached him with cowardice. The 
 other retorted: "I dare you to do it in ten times," which 
 caused his life to be spared. The slaughter in that little town 
 was fearful : more than eight hundred men, women, arid chil- 
 dren were murdered ; the streets were strewn with corpses, 
 and "the gutters looked as if it had rained blood," says a 
 contemporary. At another time, though this belongs to a 
 different period of his history the baron marched to besiege 
 Valence, where (as we shall see presently) the Reformed had 
 revolted and seized upon the Grey Friars' Church. In defi- 
 ance of his threats, they publicly celebrated the Lord's Supper 
 in the appropriated church, as many as 5000 partaking of the 
 sacrament. They afterward came to terms with him, agree- 
 ing to open their gates and restore the church ; but Des 
 Adrets had no sooner entered than he seized a number of 
 Protestants and sentenced them to lose their heads. They 
 were taken to punishment with their mouths gagged; and 
 after being dismembered, their limbs were fastened to the 
 doors of the church they had profaned.* Strange to say, 
 however, the baron professed to deplore the cruel necessities 
 of war, and excused his barbarities by pleading that it was 
 not cruelty to retaliate. "The first acts are cruelties," he 
 said, " the second mere justice." De Thou, who saw him at 
 Grenoble, describes his green and vigorous old age, his fierce 
 eyes, and thin, fleshless features, marked, like Sylla's, with red 
 spots, as of blood, f 
 
 The ferocity of Des Adrets was exceeded by the atrocities 
 committed under the eyes of Cardinal Strozzi, Bishop of Albi, 
 who excited the populace of Gaillac to massacre their Protest- 
 ant brethren, with whom they had hitherto lived on friendly 
 terms. About seventy Huguenots were seized as they were 
 
 * Lc Baron dc Chapuys-Montlaville : Hist, de Davphine, ii. p. 358 (8vo. 
 Paris, 1829). 
 
 t"Huboribns intcrfusa, ut liituin sanguine maceratum." Thuanus: De 
 Vita sua, lib. i. p. 1165.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 233 
 
 attending divine worship, and thrust into a dungeon of the 
 abbey of St. Michael, situated on a precipitous rock above the 
 river Tarn. A laborer, wearing the judicial cap and robe of a 
 magistrate whom he had killed, went through the farce of try- 
 ing the prisoners and condemning them to be thrown from 
 the wall into the river. Boatmen were stationed on the banks 
 of the stream to brain such as were not killed by the fall. 
 
 In the south of France, the Reformed doctrines had ex- 
 tended more widely and struck deeper root than in other parts 
 of that kingdom. This difference was owing fo a combina- 
 tion of many causes. The great cities of Provence and Lan- 
 guedoc still retained many of their municipal privileges, dat- 
 ing from the time of the Roman dominion, which made them 
 almost republican. This begat the spirit of independence 
 which always accompanies self-government. Moreover, the 
 Albigensian crusade of the thirteenth century had not exter- 
 minated heresy : the opinions that had been so bitterly perse- 
 cuted fastened their roots deep in the hearts of the southern 
 population, where they lay, generation after generation, wait- 
 ing for the opportunity of displaying themselves. It came at 
 last, and with it a desire to revenge themselves on the descend- 
 ants of those who had devastated the fair south with fire and 
 sword. It was an oppressed nation rising against their op- 
 pressors, the sins of the fathers being visited upon the chil- 
 dren. At the first outbreak of hostilities, the Huguenots seized 
 upon the churches, which they purified of all marks of idola- 
 try, destroying the relics and making a jest of the consecrated 
 wafer. In some towns they entirely forbade the Catholic wor- 
 ship, turned the nuns from their convents, and even compelled 
 them to marry. Beza, in a letter to the Queen of Navarre, ex- 
 pressed himself plainly, though not very strongly, upon the 
 matter : " About this destruction of images I can say nothing 
 more than what I have always felt and preached, that such a 
 mode of procedure does not at all please me." The violation 
 of sepulture he declared to be utterly without excuse, and that 
 Conde was determined to punish it.
 
 23-i MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 At Orange, the capital of the little principality which gave 
 a title to William III. of England, and .to his still more illus- 
 trious predecessor, the liberator of Holland, the Huguenots 
 had long enjoyed an unusual immunity from persecution ; but 
 the news of the massacre at Vassy, and the threatening lan- 
 guage of their orthodox neighbors, made them arm in self- 
 defense. This but accelerated the crisis; the Catholics at- 
 tacked the city, which, after a stout resistance, was captured, 
 and treated as a fortress taken by storm (6th May, 1562). 
 Serbelloni, who commanded the pontifical auxiliaries, excited 
 his followers to their bloody work. They spared neither age 
 nor sex : all the sick in the hospital were killed, some being 
 tossed from the windows on the spears of the soldiers below. 
 Wonlen were hanged to the balconies of houses, and made 
 targets to be shot at. But this was the least of the atrocities 
 they had to suffer at the hands of a licentious soldiery, who 
 often took pleasure in destroying their victims by the most 
 lingering tortures they could devise.* When Montbrun cap- 
 tured Mornas, where these butchers had taken refuge, he 
 put them all to death, and threw their bodies into the river, 
 having stuck on them a notice to the " toll-keepers of Avign- 
 on to permit the ruffians to pass, as they had paid the toll 
 already." 
 
 On the 25th April, 1562, the Seigneur de la Motte-Gondrin, 
 who was governor of Dauphiny in the absence of the Duke of 
 Guise, seized the gates of Valence; but his force was not 
 strong enough to hold the city, which the next day was re- 
 taken by the Huguenot citizens, aided by their brethren of 
 Montelimart and other places. Gondrm himself was attacked 
 at his lodging, and the rebels having set fire to it to drive 
 him out, he and all his party were slain. Among them was 
 the provost of the city, upon whom was found a missive from 
 the Duke of Guise, ordering him to " massacre and put to 
 
 * Archives cwieuses, iii. 227; Varillas: Illst. Charles IX. (Cologne, 
 1684).
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 235 
 
 death all followers of the Gospel without any regard to age 
 or sex."* 
 
 The disturbances at Lyons began in the night of the 12th 
 April, when the Catholics, " without any provocation," rose 
 in several parts oi the city. About a dozen persons were 
 murdered, and among them a woman, who fell by the hand 
 of her own son. The governor, De Saulx, called in reinforce- 
 ments, while the Huguenots were strengthened by the arrival 
 of two hundred men from the surrounding Protestant towns. 
 Both parties, watching each other, kept under arms for a fort- 
 night, until Wednesday the 26th, when the Protestants, to 
 the number of 1200, assembled in their temple, and after in- 
 voking the blessing of God upon their enterprise, marched 
 out, occupied the Saone bridge, and made themselves masters 
 of the city. Every convent was broken open, every friar and 
 nun turned out.f In this tumult only three persons were kill- 
 ed, and as many w T ounded. A treaty was now arranged with 
 the Senate, who promised to assign churches to the Protest- 
 ants. The citizens who had left for religion were permitted 
 to return, the mass was abolished, liberty of conscience pro- 
 claimed, and the Senate was in future to be composed of twelve 
 Protestant and as many Catholic councilors.^; But the Hu- 
 guenots do not appear to have kept to the spirit of the treaty, 
 however faithfully they may have adhered to the letter. They 
 committed devastations that would have disgraced the Van- 
 dals. Churches were ravaged, tombs broken open, coffins 
 stripped of their lead and their gold or silver plates ; the bells 
 were broken up and the basilica of the Maccabees destroyed 
 by gunpowder. There does not appear to have been any pri- 
 
 * Discours de ce qui a etc faict es villcs de Vallcnce ct Lyon. 1562. A 
 party pamphlet to be read with great caution. 
 
 t In one of these convents was found "La machination ecritc et signe"e 
 faisant roles des maisons des c'vangelistes et de toutes autrcs personncs (qni 
 n'avaient point de maison), pour les mettrc a mort, hommcs, femmes et en- 
 fants, dans le 4 da dit mois de Mai." This " machination" had no exist- 
 ence but in tjie imagination of the writer. 
 
 J Pilot : Occupation de Grenoble par les Protestants,
 
 236 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 vate plunder, and this is the only redeeming feature in these 
 riotous scenes. 
 
 The flagrant violations of the January edict by the Catholics 
 roused the Huguenots of La Rochelle to assert their rights, 
 and accordingly the Lord's Supper was administered with 
 much solemnity not without the walls, but in the very heart 
 o the city in the Place de la Bourserie, on the 31st May. 
 Armed men closed every avenue, and a guard of forty soldiers 
 patrolled the adjacent streets to prevent violence. About 
 four in the afternoon, the people, excited by the novelty of the 
 spectacle and the language of the preachers, rushed to the 
 churches, threw down the altars, and burned the images.* 
 The Count of Jarnac and the mayor, who were both Calvin- 
 ists, vehemently but ineffectually condemned such violence, and 
 were supported by the ministers. Some priests who had been 
 shut up in the Lantern Tower were stabbed and thrown half 
 dead into the sea. One Stephen Chamois, a Carmelite monk, 
 had escaped from the city ; but being recognized at Aunai in 
 Saintonge, he was called upon to abjure, and, on his refusing 
 to do so, was murdered on the spot. 
 
 The city of Toulouse was notorious for the ferocity of its 
 population a character which it has preserved nearly to our 
 own day. At this time the Protestant inhabitants were esti- 
 mated at 20,000 souls a manifest exaggeration, although it 
 was one of the most populous cities of France. Their num- 
 ber was certainly numerous enough to ensure a certain 
 amount of toleration, and matters went on quietly until the 
 Pacification of Amboise. When the Parliament of Toulouse 
 received the edict, with instructions to see it properly observed, 
 they protested and sent a deputation to the king, praying 
 him, in case the edict could not be altered, " to permit them 
 to sell their property and go elsewhere, preferring to lose 
 their goods, and even their lives, rather than their faith." 
 
 * Arcere : Hist, de la VUle de Rochelle, i. p. 358 (4to. Rochclle, 1 7.~>G) ; 
 Vincent : Recherche^ sw les commencements de Rochelle : " La maJadie d'abat- 
 tre les images etnit quasi universelle."
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 237 
 
 Their petition had received no answer, when in the month of 
 April (1562) a disturbance occurred at a funeral. Some lives 
 were lost and the murderers were punished. The excited 
 Protestants immediately rose and seized the gates and the 
 H6tel-de-Ville ; and the parliament, determined to crush the 
 insurrection at any cost, called upon the populace to arm in 
 the defense of religion and order. They rushed like beasts 
 of prey upon their victims ; they filled the prisons, tossed 
 Huguenots alive out of the windows of their houses, threw 
 them into the Garonne, and if the poor wretches tried to 
 crawl out of the water, they were beaten down with stones 
 and staves. In May the two parties came to an arrangement 
 by which the Huguenots agreed to leave the city in a body ; 
 but they were not to escape so easily. The Catholic peasants 
 of the neighborhood waylaid the smaller and unarmed bodies, 
 and killed between 3000 and 4000 of them. Thrice the king 
 granted an amnesty to the Protestant citizens ; thrice the par- 
 liament refused to register it, and continued their vindictive 
 measures.* 
 
 On the other side of France a similar voluntary expatria- 
 tion occurred. The inhabitants of Sisteron left their city. 
 For twenty-two days a crowd of both sexes and all ages 
 wandered through the wild inhospitable country of the Upper 
 Durance, passing the night in remote and desert valleys. 
 Many perished by the swords of the Catholics ; many died of 
 hunger and exhaustion; the remainder at last entered the 
 friendly walls of Grenoble, singing psalms of deliverance. 
 
 At Macon, where the church was barely two years old, the 
 Huguenots made themselves masters of the city, which was 
 recovered by Tavannes a f ew months later (19th August, 1562). 
 He plundered every thing on which he could lay his hand, 
 and is reported to have picked up enough to buy an estate of 
 10,000 livres a year. His wife, who was equally unscrupulous, 
 
 * One George Bosquet wrote a justification of this massacre : " Huganeo- 
 rum lieret. Tolosce conjur. profligatio memorial jiosita," which was condemned 
 lij the council as a defamatory libel (18th June, 15C3).
 
 238 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 contrived to fill one hundred and eighty trunks with linen, 
 jewelry, ornaments, etc. No wonder that, after such an 
 example, men of high rank fomented discord and cherished 
 persecution. St. Point was appointed governor. lie was the 
 son of a priest, and " thoroughly bloody and more than cruel," 
 said Beza. After dinner, when the ladies went out to walk, 
 he used to amuse them by throwing his prisoners off the 
 bridge into the Saone, jesting at their struggles to save their 
 lives. This savage sport the Catholics named "la farce de 
 St. Point ;" but it is better known in history as the " sauteries," 
 or '' leaps of Macon." The governor justified these cruelties 
 as being mere retaliation for similar barbarities committed by 
 Des Adrets at Montbrison, which the latter in his turn justi- 
 fied by the outrages at Orange. Thus one excess leads to 
 another : abyssus abyssum invocat. 
 
 At Limoux in Languedoc, the disturbances were so many 
 and so often accompanied by loss of life that Marshal de Foix 
 entered the town to enforce the law (6th June, 1562). This 
 he effected by letting his soldiery loose upon the inhabitants 
 without distinction of religion. One Catholic, dwelling out- 
 side the walls, had his eyes plucked out and his nose cut off ; 
 another was killed as he left mass, and his body thrown 
 naked into the road. The value of the booty acquired by the 
 marshal was estimated at three or four hundred thousand 
 livres. At Castelnaudary, as the Catholics were walking in 
 procession on Palm Sunday (1562), they set fire to a mill 
 in which the Protestants were worshiping outside the town, 
 and killed all who tried to escape. The number of victims 
 amounted to sixty, among whom were the treasurer of Cath- 
 erine de Medicis, three municipal councilors, and the minister, 
 whose bowels were torn out and burned in a bonfire. At 
 St. Calais in the Vendomois the Protestants put a garrison in 
 the monastery, which was like a fortress, with its ditches, 
 ramparts, and flanking towers. The monks called for help, 
 and one day, when the bell rang for vespers, they headed 
 their allies and killed thirty of the Huguenots. A bloody
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 239 
 
 retaliation soon followed : a resolute band, collected from the 
 surrounding district, stormed the abbey and put to death 
 nearly all the priests and monks they found in it. At Issou- 
 dun in Berry (Aug., 1552), the soldiery rebaptized the little 
 Huguenot children, even a girl of thirteen being held naked 
 over the font. One Furet was about to be hanged without 
 trial, and had already mounted the ladder, when the king's 
 advocate suggested that it would be well to go through some 
 judicial formality. Accordingly Furet was led back to prison, 
 confronted with witnesses, condemned, and executed within an 
 hour. At Roquebrun two Catholics who protested against the 
 cruelties there perpetrated had their eyes plucked out by order 
 of De Brezons. At Aurillac every house was stripped from 
 roof to cellar.* At Auxerre, a street riot in the month of 
 August, in which a man was killed, was the signal for a rising. 
 The w r ife of the castellan of Avallon was stabbed with many 
 daggers, and flung into the river. Being young and strong, she 
 swam for some time, until a boatman killed her with an oar. 
 Her body was then drawn ashore and exposed to unmention- 
 able brutalities. Two months later, when the Protestants 
 were assembled for worship at a pressoir outside the town, 
 they were attacked, but fortunately escaped. Their houses, 
 however, were pillaged and one man so maltreated that he 
 died shortly after. Tavannes was sent to restore order, and 
 he hanged three Catholics, but by way of compensation inflict- 
 ed a similar punishment on five Huguenots. At Bar-sur-Seine, 
 Ralet, the king's proctor, put his own son to death for being 
 found among the Protestants.f The historian who reports 
 this adds that the Catholics cut open the bodies of women 
 and children to eat their hearts. These and other abomina- 
 tions which he records are probably the invention, or at least 
 the exaggeration, of religious party spirit. 
 
 * Imberdis, p. 3. 
 
 t Jean Ac Serves (Scrranus) adds that in the following year, 15G3, a 
 troop of fifty horse surprised the town, tied Ralet to the top of his house, 
 and fired at him until they killed him (p. 701).
 
 2-iO MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 In the little town of Bellesme a man was hanged for declar- 
 ing the costume of the Virgin to be indecent, and another 
 shot because he would not go to vespers. At Epernay in 
 Champagne, a man who had been thrown half dead into the 
 Marne, was revived by the shock. He floated down the river 
 until he reached a sheltered place, where he got out, but was 
 followed, caught, and drowned in a deep hole. Some of the 
 spectators, who were Catholics, could not restrain their tears, 
 for which they were beaten and "left for dead. Charles 
 d'Argennes, Bishop of Le Mans, who had been expelled by the 
 Huguenots, raised a band of ruffians who plundered the 
 farm-houses and robbed the travelers on the roads. One vic- 
 tim was hung up by the feet after his eyes were plucked out. 
 The bishop hanged two hundred persons, some of whom 
 were very young boys, and two madmen, who went singing 
 and dancing to the gallows. A woman was killed and her 
 mouth stuffed with leaves torn from the New Testament. 
 The bishop's lieutenant, Boisjourdan, distinguished himself by 
 a crime without parallel even in that cruel age. Two children, 
 whose mother had been put to death, went and begged him 
 to restore part of her confiscated property to keep them from 
 starvation. He received them kindly, and sat them clown at 
 table to dine with him. At a given signal a soldier took the 
 boy, a lad of fourteen, under the pretense of showing him his 
 bed, led him into the garden, there strangled him, and threw 
 the body into a pond. He then fetched the sister, who went 
 out joyfully to meet her brother, whose fate she shared after 
 she had been foully abused. For such atrocities the pope 
 rewarded Argennes by making him a cardinal in 1570. 
 
 Similar ferocities were alleged against the Huguenots, 
 many of which are unfortunately too true. Thus we find the 
 people of Dieppe (the Rochelle of northern France) pillaging 
 and defacing churches, and melting down the sacred vessels, 
 from which they collected 1200 pounds of silver. In bands 
 of 200 and 300 they made forays into the adjacent districts 
 to Eu and Arques from which they never returned
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 241 
 
 empty-handed. We read of their dragging priests into Di- 
 eppe tied to their horses' tails and flogging them at beat of 
 drum in the market-place. Some were thrown into the sea 
 in their sacerdotal robes ; some were fastened to a cross and 
 dragged through the streets by ropes round their necks; 
 and, to crown all, some were buried in the ground up to the 
 shoulders, while the Huguenots, as if playing a game of nine- 
 pins, flung huge wooden balls at their heads.* 
 
 A few weeks after the war broke out, the Protestants of 
 Bayeux rose against the clergy, committing the customary 
 devastations, besides violating the tombs and throwing out 
 the mouldering corpses. They gutted the bishop's palace, 
 and made a bonfire of the chapter library, then the richest in 
 all France. The priests and others who opposed them were 
 barbarously murdered and tossed from the walls into the 
 ditch. When the Duke of Etampes restored order, the 
 Catholics took a terrible revenge on their former persecutors. 
 Once more, in March 1565, the Huguenots gamed the upper 
 hand, when the troops under Coligny refused to be bound by 
 the terms of capitulation. Private houses were stripped of 
 all the gold, silver, copper, and lead that could be found; 
 priests who resisted were flogged, dragged up and down the 
 streets by a rope at their necks, and then killed. Children 
 were murdered in their mothers' arms ; one Thomas Noel, a 
 lawyer, was hanged at his own window; and an unhappy 
 woman had her face stained with the blood of her own 
 son, who had been killed before her eyes. Here, too, more 
 priests were buried up to the neck, and their heads made to 
 serve as targets for the soldiers' bullets ; others were disem- 
 boweled and their bodies filled with straw. The priest of 
 St. Ouen we shudder as we record such horrors was 
 seized by four soldiers, who " larded " him like a capon, roast- 
 ed him, cut him up, and threw the flesh to the dogs.f 
 
 It would have been well had these deeds of brutality been 
 
 * Vitct : Hist. Dieppe, p. 77. (Paris, 1844.) 
 t De Bras : Antiquites de Caen, p. 1 70. 
 
 Q
 
 242 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 confined to Normandy ; but they were repeated all over 
 France. One Friar Viroleau died of the consequences of a 
 barbarous mutilation. Other priests or Catholic people were 
 killed by hanging, speared to death, left to die of hunger, 
 sawn in two, or burned at a slow fire. All this happened 
 in Angouleme. At Montbrun a woman was burned on her 
 legs and feet with red-hot tongs. The lieutenant-general of 
 Angouleme and the wife of the lieutenant-criminal of that city 
 were first mutilated, then strangled, and their corpses dragged 
 through the streets. At Chasseneuil in the vicinity, a priest, 
 one Loys Fayard, was shot to death after having been tor- 
 tured by having his hands plunged in boiling oil, some of 
 which had been poured into his mouth. The vicar of St. 
 Auzanni was mutilated, shut Tip in a chest', and burned to 
 death. In the parish of Rivieres others had their tongues 
 cut off, their feet burned, and their eyes torn out; they were 
 hung up by the legs, or thrown from the walls. Other atroc- 
 ities were committed which can not be described without 
 offending propriety. One Huguenot is said to have gone 
 about with a chain of priests' ears around his neck.* In 
 1562 men did not stop to ask whether these things were true 
 or false ; they were passed from mouth to mouth and be- 
 lieved, just as the vulgar even now believe any story, how- 
 ever wild or improbable, that falls in with their peculiar 
 temper or prejudices. The Catholic burned with indignation 
 as he listened to the story of these outrages sometimes re- 
 lated to him from the pulpit outrages against the men and 
 the things that he reverenced most upon earth. Blasphemy 
 against God might be pardoned, but against the Virgin Mary 
 
 * The whole of this frightful catalogue will be found in the " Theatre ties 
 cruautes des he'retiques dc notre temps, 1588." Reprinted in the Archives 
 curieuses de France (Cimber and Danjou), torn. vi. series 1. p. 299. See 
 also in the same collection, chap. xiv. of the Discours sur le Saccagement des 
 gllses, etc. en 1562, by Claude de Sainctes, and the Vrai Tocsain. Wo 
 must not accept for truth all recorded by this writer, but after the most 
 ample deduction from his narrative there remains much to lament and 
 condemn.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 243 
 
 never ! They retaliated immediately upon all the Hugue- 
 nots within their power, and with all the more cruelty and 
 persistency that they fervently believed they were doing God 
 a sendee. 
 
 But these are scenes too disgusting to dwell upon, and we 
 gladly turn to less savage, though hardly to purer scenes. 
 The hostility between the two sects showed itself at court by 
 quarrels between the ladies, the Princess of Conde and the 
 Duchess of Ferrara heading one party, and thejyidowed Duch- 
 ess of Guise the other. The queen-mother tried in vain to 
 check their feminine disputes. The Huguenot ladies would 
 not give way. Chantonnay says of them : " They do little else 
 at court than preach sermons and sing psalms. Daily prayers 
 are said in the apartments of the Prince of Conde, with the 
 help of all who have the will and the ability to go there." 
 
 These party questions were momentarily silenced by the 
 necessity of getting rid of the foreign garrison which still 
 occupied Havre. The Huguenots, as well as the Catholics, 
 were pleased at the opportunity of showing their prowess 
 against " the natural enemy of France." The former, aware 
 of the great blunder they had committed in the treaty of 
 Hampton Court, were eager to drive out the English, who 
 did not feel the slightest inclination to depart. Queen Eliza- 
 beth's policy may have been national, but it was very shabby 
 and prejudicial to the Huguenot cause. "We are resolutely 
 determined to keep Newhaven [Havre], except they will re- 
 solve to restore us Calais," wrote Cecil on Christmas Day, 
 1562.* "When he heard that peace had been made at Orleans 
 "without consideration of us," he added : " If it be so, I know 
 the worst, which is, by stout and stiff dealing, to make our 
 own bargain."f And yet, after these big words, the English 
 government did nothing, though the governor of Havre (the 
 Earl of Warwick) urgently demanded supplies and reinforce- 
 ments, which did not sail until the place had capitulated. 
 
 * Wright's Elizabeth, i. 1 18. t Und. i. 13 1 . .
 
 244 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW C 
 
 With sanctimonious resignation Sir E. Warner wrote to 
 Cecil : " The loss of Newhaven so suddenly and in such sort, 
 as it seemeth, I am sorry for to the bottom of my heart. 
 But against God's ordinance no man can stand." The garri- 
 son had suffered terribly from the plague, which they brought 
 with them to England, where it is computed to have killed 
 20,000 persons in London and the out-parishes. 
 
 Conde, who had fought valiantly at Havre, hoped that his 
 services to the monarchy would be repaid by promotion to the 
 office of Lieutenant-General of France, vacant by the death of 
 his elder brother, Anthony of Navarre. Catherine had held 
 this out as a lure without the remotest intention of keeping 
 her promise. She probably found that the throne would be 
 weakened by being kept longer in tutelage, and therefore, 
 with L'Hopital's concurrence, anticipated the young king's 
 majority by twelve months, ordering it to be declared as 
 soon as he entered his fourteenth year, and thus obviated 
 the necessity of appointing a new lieutenant-general. The 
 ceremony took place at Rouen, it being feared that the Par- 
 liament of Paris, in which Conde had friends, would refuse 
 to register the edict of majority. On the 17th August, 
 1563, Charles went down to the courts of law in great state, 
 and after announcing the close of his minority, he declared 
 that he would not permit the repetition of such acts of in- 
 subordination as he had witnessed during the recent hostili- 
 ties, and that he desired the Edict of Pacification should be 
 kept in all its provisions. 
 
 Charles appears at this time to have been an amiable youth : 
 he possessed good natural qualities, and his attempts in poetry 
 (if they are his own) are not entirely unworthy of Marot, to 
 whom they are addressed. He had in early days a fair taste 
 for literature, and had he continued under the training of 
 Amyot and Cipierre, he might have been worthy of the throne. 
 With such a mother as Catherine, and such tutors as she 
 gave him, he could hardly fail to become treacherous and 
 cruel. We shall see at times his better nature breaking
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 245 
 
 through, but the evil spirit within him was never thoroughly 
 conquered. 
 
 There exists a curious letter written about this time by 
 Catherine to her son, giving him instructions as to the con- 
 duct of his life.* He is exhorted to rise early, to go to mass 
 with his four secretaries, to dine not later than eleven o'clock, 
 to ride or walk for three hours, to hunt, to read his letters 
 every day and see that they are punctually answered, and to 
 have the keys of the palace brought to him eaj3h night and 
 placed under his pillow. There are other exhortations of a 
 similar nature such as would make him " the first gentleman 
 of the day," but would not tend to make him a good Chris- 
 tian. Had she wished to see her son a good man, Catherine 
 would have given .him proper tutors, and not such as Gondi, 
 whom Brantome describes as " cunning, corrupt, false, and 
 blasphemous." 
 
 The termination of the sittings of the Council of Trent (De- 
 cember, 1563), imported another element of confusion into 
 the religious differences of the age. The council, although 
 summoned in 1541, did not actually meet until December, 
 1545. It had been hoped that some means would be found 
 of healing the divisions in the Church, but one after another 
 every form of Protestant opinion was eliminated from the 
 new creed, and reconciliation became impossible. The articles 
 of the council were made compulsory in every Catholic state ; 
 but the Church of France was so far independent that the 
 solemn consent of the crown was required to make the decrees 
 valid. They might, indeed, be received as articles of faith, 
 but could not be pleaded in a court of law until ratified by the 
 sovereign. To procure that ratification, the King of Spain 
 dispatched an embassador, accompanied by a deputation from 
 the Dukes of Tuscany and Lorraine, inviting Charles to send 
 commissioners to Nancy, where an assembly of princes was 
 
 * This letter was partly the composition of L'Hopital, and was written by 
 Montaigne, the essayist, at that time one of the royal secretaries.
 
 2-iG MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 to meet to consult on the best measures to be adopted for the 
 extirpation of heresy. L'Hopital, foreseeing the deadly con- 
 . sequences of such a step, advised the queen-mother to receive 
 the embassy and deputation very politely, detain them at court 
 as long as possible, and dismiss them at last with an evasive 
 answer. " The government," says Languet, " have no idea of 
 taking away the liberty granted by the late edict; for (to omit 
 other reasons) they see that it can not be done without a dis- 
 turbance, as our churches are more crowded than they have 
 ever been." * Independently of this consideration, we find 
 Santa Croce writing to Cardinal Borromeo (12th Oct., 1564) 
 an account of an interview with the queen. After listening 
 patiently to his message from the Holy Father relative to the 
 introduction of the Tridentine decrees, she replied : " No one 
 can feel a more ardent desire for the observance of the council 
 than myself ; but affairs are in such a state that I am compelled 
 to handle them very delicately, and it is impossible to issue 
 any fresh edicts just now. Whenever circumstances permit, 
 I will do as his Holiness desires." This was no new language. 
 In the instructions to his embassadors at the council, the king 
 declared that considering the number of the heretics, he could 
 not attempt to put down the new religion by force, without 
 endangering both crown and state, f 
 
 *Langueti Epist. ii. 281, (20th January, 1564): " Se enim satis exper- 
 tnm quantum malorum ... Reginam nihil jam minus cogitare quam. . ." 
 t Instructions dated 1562, in Le Plat, v. pp. 151, 155.
 
 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 247 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 THE MEETING AT BAYONNE AND THE SECOND WAR. 
 
 [June, 1565-March, 1563.] 
 
 >* 
 
 The Royal progress Bayonne in June Identical note Amusements Po- 
 litical Deliberations The Queen of Navarre Excommunicated Cather- 
 ine's Remonstrance The Pope yields State of Gascony Assembly of 
 Notables at Moulins Feud between Guise and Coligny Montmorency 
 and the Cardinal Disturbed state of Maine Montluc pacifies Gascony 
 Embassy from Germany Rebellion in Flanders March of Alva Conde' 
 leaves the Court Rumored Plot Huguenot Meeting at Chatillon War 
 resolved upon Attempt to seize Charles Huguenot Rising Battle of 
 St. Denis Death of the Constable German Auxiliaries Michelade of 
 Nismes Siege of Chartres Peace of Longjumeau Death of Coligny's 
 Wife. 
 
 Ix order to test the state of public feeling and apply a rem- 
 edy to the great disorders of the realm, the queen-mother 
 decided upon an extensive tour through the south and west 
 of France, which would give her an opportunity of showing 
 the king to his subjects and strengthening him in their affec- 
 tions. It is not necessary to trace the progress of the court 
 step by step ; a few incidents, however, may be quoted to 
 show the intolerant temper of the Catholic party. In many 
 of the towns of Burgundy, Charles was received with shouts 
 of " Long live the King !" and " The Mass forever !" At 
 Chalons a modal was struck, representing the monarch tram- 
 pling on Heresy, depicted as a Fury pouring out torrents of fire. 
 At Lyons the foundations were laid of a citadel intended to 
 crush the heretical tendencies of the inhabitants. The walls 
 of several Protestant towns were demolished, and numerous 
 addresses were presented to the young monarch, praying him 
 to interdict the exercise of any form of religion but the 
 Romish.
 
 248 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 In the middle of June, 1565, the court reached the city of 
 Bayonne, near the Spanish frontier, where the famous meet- 
 ing took place at which it was generally supposed the extir- 
 pation of Protestantism was arranged. As early as April, 
 1561, Catherine had suggested a similar meeting, when she 
 was agitated by the fear of a marriage between the widowed 
 Mary Stuart and Don Carlos. She pretended a great desire 
 to discuss with Philip II. the religious condition of France 
 and the affairs of the King of Navarre, hoping by such an 
 interview to thwart the Scottish matrimonial project.* 
 
 The ostensible cause of the meeting four years later was 
 the queen's desire to see her daughter, who had just recov- 
 ered from a severe illness. Political motives were not for- 
 gotten, and among other matters to be considered between 
 the sovereigns of France and Spain for Catherine hoped 
 that Philip would accompany his wife was undoubtedly the 
 repression of heresy. There exists among the state papers 
 at Simancas what is called by diplomatists an "identical 
 note " of the subjects to be discussed at Bayonne. In it we 
 read that the two powers engaged not to tolerate the Re- 
 formed worship in their respective states, that the canons of 
 the Council of Trent should be enforced, that all noncon- 
 formists should be incapacitated for any public office, civil 
 or military, and that heretics should quit the realm within a 
 month, permission being accorded them to sell their property. 
 Although Catherine gave her assent to these declarations, so 
 far as the discussion of them was concerned, we have indis- 
 putable evidence that she did not intend to adopt them in 
 the same sense as Philip of Spain, for at this very time she 
 was corresponding with the Bishop of Rennes, the French 
 embassador to the imperial court, on the propriety of making 
 concessions to the Huguenots. A long and tedious negotia- 
 tion ensued between the two courts of France and Spain a 
 fencing-match of deceit which ended in an arrangement 
 
 * See a remarkable dispatch on this subject in the Rouen Library, Leber, 
 Bundle D, No. 5725.
 
 MASSACEE OP ST. BAETHOLOMEW. 249 
 
 that Isabella should go to meet her mother and brothers 
 alone, attended by the Duke of Alva as embassador extraor- 
 dinary. Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva, had 
 not yet attained that evil eminence which has linked his 
 name with all that is blood-thirsty. He was now in his fifty- 
 seventh year, and the most successful general in Europe. 
 He had fleshed his maiden sword at the battle of Fontarabia, 
 when he was only sixteen ; had served under the emperor 
 Charles V. in Germany; saved the Spanish infantry from 
 destruction at the siege of Metz ; and, as viceroy of Naples, 
 foiled all the efforts of the Duke of Guise to recover the 
 throne of that country for France. He had accompanied 
 Philip II. to England during that monarch's brief matrimo- 
 nial expedition, and afterward waged a fruitless war in Italy 
 against Francis of Guise and the pope. As a statesman he 
 possessed great capacity, although at Bayonne he entirely 
 failed in the chief object of his mission.* 
 
 The mother and daughter first met at Irun on the banks 
 of the Bidassoa, and thence proceeded to Bayonne, where 
 the French court had taken up its qiiarters. The magnifi- 
 cence of the processions and fetes in that remote corner of 
 France put to shame all modern attempts of a similar kind. 
 Isabella entered Bayonne riding on a milk-white palfrey, 
 whose trappings of velvet, silver, and pearls were estimated 
 at 25,000 ducats. f Four of the principal citizens bore a can^ 
 opy of crimson velvet over her head, as she rode from the gate 
 to the cathedral through streets hung with arras ; and as the 
 day was drawing to a close, every house and church was 
 illuminated, and each member of the cortege bore a lighted 
 torch. A Te Dcum, "accompanied by excellent cornets," 
 was sung by choristers from the chapel-royal of the Louvre, 
 Cardinals Guise and Strozzi officiating with a number of 
 French and Spanish bishops. The weather was sd intensely 
 
 * A portrait of Alva, by Titian, is at Warwick Castle. 
 t Sec Freer: Elizabeth de Valois, ii. ch. 2. In this chapter we prefer to 
 call the queen by her Spanish name, Isabella.
 
 250 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 hot that six soldiers of the queen's escort fell dead, the vic- 
 tims of sun-stroke.* Other casualties of a similar nature 
 occurring in the small and crowded city, a proclamation was 
 issued ordering that all the sick, aged, and infirm should 
 seek shelter in certain villages specified, at a distance from 
 Bayonne.f 
 
 Some years later, when Walsingham referred to this meet- 
 ing as the origin of a " general league " against the Protest- 
 ants, Catherine affirmed that it " tended to no other end but to 
 make good cheer." J And so it would seem, for ftte follow- 
 ed fete in rapid succession, the political business being trans- 
 acted at odd moments, after those more serious occupations of 
 the day were ended. 
 
 One day there was a grand tilting-match, the prize being a 
 valuable diamond given by Isabella. Charles IX. and his 
 brother of Anjou headed one band of noble tilters, all array- 
 ed in fancy costumes ; another band was led by the Duke of 
 Nemours, while the horsemen composing that following the 
 Duke of Longueville were dressed in cloth of gold with wings of 
 silver tissue, so as to imitate butterflies. On the evening of 
 another day a masque was performed in a large hall construct- 
 ed for the purpose. The scene represented a giant's castle, 
 where a number of beautiful maidens were imprisoned in an 
 enchanted chamber. The entrance, defended by a revolving 
 wheel and guarded by six frightful demons, was attacked by 
 a troop of French and Spanish gentlemen headed by Charles 
 IX., who, after several unsuccessful assaults, overcame every 
 obstacle, killing the giant, routing the demons, and delivering 
 the imprisoned damsels, whom he led as witnesses of his 
 prowess to the feet of his sister Isabella. 
 
 * Per il gran caldo. Li Grandlssiml Apparati, etc. Padbva, 1565. 
 
 f Walsingham to Smith, 14th September, 1572. Digges : Compleat Am- 
 basitador, p. 241. 
 
 t The attendants of the court were so numerous, that they could not be 
 accommodated in the town, but had to lodge in the adjacent villages or live 
 in tents pitched in the surrounding fields.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 251 
 
 A pageant of a more elaborate description followed the 
 next day. It began Avith a romantic prologue. A herald pre- 
 sented himself at Charles's apartments in the castle, and hav- 
 ing been led into the king's presence, he related how, during a 
 recent journey, he had fallen in with a gallant company of 
 knights, who, unable to decide on the superiority of LOVE or 
 VIRTUE, had agreed to refer the difference to the arbitration 
 of his Majesty of France. A deputation from the supporters 
 of each opinion was waiting below, desirous to plead their 
 cause. The knights were admitted, they made their speeches ; 
 but the matter in dispute was so knotty that Charles declared 
 it could only be settled by arms. A tournament was pro- 
 claimed, and all proceeded to the lists, the two queens taking 
 their seats in a gallery hung wdth velvet. And now the pa- 
 geant began. First came VIRTUE, seated on a rock, and at- 
 tended by six nymphs. She wore an azure robe, and carried 
 a lighted torch in her hand. After making the circuit of the 
 arena, the car stopped before Queen Isabella, when VIRTUE, 
 reciting some appropriate verses, presented her and each of 
 her ladies with a massive gold chain. As soon as the goddess 
 had retired, LOVE entered the lists in a chariot drawn by four 
 piebald horses. He too halted before the Queen of Spain and 
 sang some verses in praise of the joys and triumphs of love. 
 The tournament now commenced, Charles maintaining the 
 cause of VIRTUE, the Duke of Anjou that of LOVE. The two 
 troops first engaged hand to hand, the king and his brother 
 breaking a lance together. Then they divided into fours, un- 
 til at last the mSlee became general. At the end of about half 
 an hour, the trumpets sounded, the combatants retired to their 
 own side of the list, and Charles and the duke, riding for- 
 ward, embraced each other, to show " that, VIRTUE and LOVE 
 being brother and sister, the triumph of each was the glory of 
 the other." 
 
 On another occasion, Isabella was entertained at a rural fete, 
 where the collation was spread under the leafy branches of 
 an oak-tree, from whose root issued a fountain, the construe-
 
 252 MASSACRE -OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 tion of which cost a sum equivalent to 400 sterling. An- 
 other day the pageant took the singular form of a whale fish- 
 ery. A turtle, on which sat six Tritons, floated down the 
 Adour ; then came Neptune in a car drawn by sea-horses, with 
 Arion on a dolphin. When the company landed, there follow- 
 ed a pastoral ballet, in which the dancing of the French ladies 
 and gentlemen so delighted the Spaniards that it was repeat- 
 ed again and again until midnight.* 
 
 One of the masques given at Bayonne is remarkable for the 
 curious picture it presents of a " wild Scotchman." After the 
 Prince-dauphin of Auvergne and his train of six gentlemen, all 
 dressed like women, had filed off, the Duke of Guise and an- 
 other six followed, all dressed " a 1'ecossais sauvage." Over 
 a white satin shirt embroidered with gold lace and crimson 
 silk, they wore a casaquin of yellow velvet with short skirts 
 closely plaited " according to the custom of the savages " it 
 appears to have been a kilt trimmed with a border of crim- 
 son satin, and ornamented with gold, silver, pearls, and other 
 jewels of various colors. Their yellow satin hose was similar- 
 ly adorned, and their silk boots were trimmed with silver fringe 
 and rosettes. On their .heads they wore a cap d V antique of 
 cloth of gold, and for crest a thunder-bolt pouring out a fra- 
 grant jet of perfumed fire the said thunder-bolt being twined 
 round by a serpent reposing on a pillow of green and satin. 
 Each cavalier wore on his arm a Scotch shield or targe cover- 
 ed with cloth of gold and bearing a device. The horses' trap- 
 pings were of crimson satin with plumes of yellow, white, and 
 carnation. So much for the Frenchman's ideal of a Scotch- 
 man ! The suite of the Duke of Longueville was still more 
 extraordinary : it consisted of six winged demons whose head- 
 dresses were all flames of fire.f 
 
 * Abel Jouan : Voyage de Charles IX., printed by Baschi, Baron d'Aubais, 
 in his Pieces fugitives pour servir a Vhistoire de France. 4to. Paris, 1759. 
 See also M&m. de Marguerite. 
 
 t Reeueil des chases notables qui ont est^ f sites a Bayonne, etc. 8vo. Paris, 
 1566 ; Li Grandissimi Apparati e Reali, Trionfi fatti nella citta di Baiona. 
 8vo. Padova, 15G5.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BAKTHOLOMEW. 253 
 
 While the younger and fairer portion of the court were in- 
 dulging in these gayeties, Catherine and Alva did not entirely 
 forget more important matters, though the queen-mother 
 seems to have put them off as long as possible. She would 
 probably have evaded them altogether had not Cardinal Gran- 
 velle urged his royal mistress to take the initiative. At a pri- 
 vate interview, on the 1 9th June, Isabella urged her mother to 
 make known the important business which she had declared 
 could only be told to Philip or to herself. Catherine replied : 
 " It would be useless to do so, for I have been informed that 
 his Catholic majesty shows such signs of distrust toward me 
 and my son as must inevitably lead to war ere long." As this 
 was shifting the ground, and Isabella could not get her moth- 
 er to talk of any thing else, she ended the interview by saying : 
 " Your majesty must excuse me. As the king my husband 
 has not commanded me to take an active share in the negotia- 
 tions, I must refer you, madam, to the embassadors." At a 
 second meeting, two days later, Alva was present when the 
 closer union of the royal houses of France and Spain by the 
 marriage of Margaret of Valois to Don Carlos was advocated 
 by the queen-mother, as " the best means of healing the differ- 
 ences everywhere prevailing, and also of placing the affairs of 
 religion on a stable foundation." In his account of this inter- 
 view, Don Francisco of Alava wrote to his royal master: 
 " Never was princess in greater embarrassment than this queen. 
 One person advises her majesty to act this way, another quite 
 the contrary ; and she herself dar^s not decide nor even evince 
 a preference. . . . The principal Roman Catholics of this 
 court show much zeal, but they are men of words more than 
 of deeds." In the evening of the 23d, Alva was again sum- 
 moned to the queen's presence ; he found her walking alone 
 with her daughter in a long gallery. Isabella pressed her to 
 dismiss L'Hopital, the chancellor : " I am persuaded," she con- 
 tinued, " that so long as he is maintained in his present post, 
 your good subjects alone will have reason to dread and fear, 
 while the bad will find shelter and countenance." To which
 
 254: MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 Catherine replied : " I can not admit the truth of my daugh- 
 ter's observations." Alva, to excuse her, added : " The queen 
 my mistress has only pressed your majesty thus hardly because 
 the king my master wishes to ascertain positively from your 
 majesty and the king your son whether it is the intention of 
 your majesties to put down heresy or not, as in either case my 
 master will know how to govern his conduct." To this Cath- 
 erine replied, with no little haughtiness : " The council will 
 give the reply demanded by my son the Catholic king." 
 
 The last conference was held on the 28th June, and at it 
 were present the king and the two queens, Anjou, Alva, Don 
 Juan Manrique, Don Francisco Alava, Montpensier, the Car- 
 dinals of Bourbon, Guise, and Lorraine, and the Constable 
 Montmorency. After some remarks about accepting the can- 
 ons of the Council of Trent, the discussion turned on the 
 best mode of settling the religious differences. The Duke of 
 Alva said : " It seems to me that this is not the 'moment 
 to root out the evil with the sword, or to treat it merely 
 with mildness and dissimulation ; for, on the one hand, my 
 master can hardly approve that your majesty should raise an 
 army and lead it against your own subjects, and, on the other, 
 there seems no sufficient reason for leaving those unpunished 
 who are too audacious. I would not set religion on the un- 
 certain footing of the chances of a war, in which one evil acci- 
 dent may throw all into the greatest danger. . . . Some 
 persons, as I have been told, have advised your majesty to 
 take up arms against those of the religion. I have not come 
 to France to do it so bad a service, nor would the king my 
 master have sent me for such a purpose."* Cardinal Gran- 
 velle was of the same opinion; there were safer ways of get- 
 ting rid of troublesome enemies than by war : the government 
 had only to seize five or six of the chief Huguenots and cut off 
 their heads.f That the King of Spain entertained similar 
 
 * Tlaumer: Illustrations, i. p. 121. 
 
 t l y apiers (Ttat do Granrelle, ix. p. 298. 4to. Paris, 1852, ed. Weiss.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 255 
 
 views we learn from his remarks to Sigismond Cavalli, the 
 Venetian embassador, that the French troubles were owing to 
 the neglect of the advice he had given them years before.* 
 Neither Charles nor Catherine would make any promises; 
 they thought the state of France was satisfactory, but would 
 willingly listen to any suggestions and deliberate very careful- 
 ly upon them. For one incident of the conference we are in- 
 debted to Prince Henry of Navarre, who was allowed to vis- 
 it Bayonne, because, said Philip, "he is still a child, whom 
 God will not allow to remain in ignorance." One day when 
 the Duke of Alva and Catherine were conversing together, 
 the former, putting Tarquin's gesture into words, advised her 
 to get rid of the Huguenot nobles, after which all would be 
 easy work : " Ten thousand frogs," he said, " are not worth the 
 head of one salmon."f Henry overheard him, and the words 
 struck him so much that he repeated them to Soffrey de Ca- 
 lignon, one of his attendants, by whom they were transmitted 
 to the Queen of Navarre. They soon became known to the 
 Huguenot leaders, and aroused a suspicion, which it would 
 have been well for them had they never laid aside. The 
 words produced a deep impression upon Catherine, and more 
 than once she tried to act upon them, until at last she succeed- 
 ed but too well. Giovanni Correro, the Venetian envoy, writ- 
 ing to his government in 1569, gives us a little insight into 
 the queen-mother's opinions about this time. Being one day 
 in a confidential mood, she said to her fellow-countryman : 
 " While at Carcassone, on my way back from Bayonne, I read 
 a manuscript chronicle about the mother of St. Louis, a boy 
 only eleven years old. She had to contend against malcontent 
 nobles, but with time the king grew up and crushed his ene- 
 mies beneath the vengeance they had drawn upon themselves. 
 
 * "Che a loro sono occorse qucsti mine per non aver voluto creder c far 
 quello die lui piu di 8 anni li avviso," etc. 7th May, 1568. 
 
 t Davila gives the same idea in different words : lib. iii. Mathien (Hist. 
 France, i. 283) says his authority was Calignon, a Catholic, whose Memoirs 
 were published by Gomberville in his Supplement to the Memoirs of Se
 
 256 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 I applied the case to myself." Correro observed : " Your 
 majesty must have found comfort therein, for as the present 
 is an image of the past, so you may be sure the end will not 
 be unlike." At this the queen began to laugh, as was her cus- 
 tom when she heard any thing that pleased her, and replied : 
 " But I should not like any body to know that I have read 
 that chronicle, for they would say that I am taking Queen 
 Blanche of Castile for my pattern." * It was not likely this 
 precedent would be forgotten when opportunity served. 
 
 It is certain that nothing was settled at theBayonne meet- 
 ing, Catherine being steadfast in her purpose to maintain her 
 power by holding the balance between the two hostile parties. 
 "She has promised to do wonders," wrote Granvelle (20th 
 August, 1565), " but will do nothing of any service." The 
 king, young as he was, proved equally immovable. " It is easy 
 to see that he has been tutored," wrote Alva contemptuously 
 to his master. And thus terminated the interview from which 
 so .much had been expected.f It left, however, a very bitter 
 feeling among the Huguenots, who believed that some devilish 
 plot had been contrived against them, and tended to alienate 
 them from the crown, although they still professed great loy- 
 alty to the king, not confounding him with the government, as 
 the Parliamentarians expressed their devotion to Charles I. 
 
 As soon as Isabella had recrossed the Spanish frontier, the 
 French court proceeded to Nerac in Gascony to visit Joan, the 
 widowed Queen of Navarre. "When her husband apostatized, 
 he would have made her apostatize also ; but she refused, and 
 
 * Baschet : La Diplomatic Venitienne, p. 522. Paris, 18G2. 
 
 t It is clear from Alva's letters first published in the Papiers d'Etat dit 
 Cardinal Granvelle, ix. pp. 281-330, that the general belief in a league to 
 exterminate the Huguenots is erroneous, although Adrian! (Storia Fiorent^) 
 says expressly that Catherine had agreed upon what they called "Sicilian 
 Vespers," and that the king was to retire to the strong castle of Moulins in 
 the Bourbonnais, where he would be safe. But Adriani is the only person 
 who ever saw the MSS. in which he professed to read this. De Thou evi- 
 dently did not believe the story (ii. 377, scribunt is his word) ; and Castelnau 
 (liv. vi. ch. 1) implies as much.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 257 
 
 took refuge in Beam. Anthony ordered Montluc to stop her 
 and keep her prisoner a danger she happily escaped, as also 
 a conspiracy entered into by some of her Catholic subjects to 
 seize and deliver her to the King of Spain. Joan abolished 
 popery in her hereditary states, and confiscated the church 
 property for the benefit of the new clergy and of education. 
 For this the pope summoned her to appear at Rome to an- 
 swer a charge of heresy, on pain of being excommunicated 
 and deprived of her territories (1564).* In this Pius IV. 
 overshot the mark : his proceedings endangered every crowned 
 head in Europe. He had also about the same time issued a 
 citation against the Cardinal of Chatillon,f the Bishop of Va- 
 lence, and four other prelates. The papal citation being a 
 gross infringement of the privileges of the Gallican Church, 
 a special embassador was sent to Rome to remonstrate with 
 the Holy Father, and the opinions of the government may be 
 gathered from a letter written by the queen-mother to the 
 Bishop of Rennes, her embassador in Germany : " We ac- 
 knowledge no authority or jurisdiction on the pope's part 
 over those who bear the title of king or queen, and that it is 
 not for him to give away states and kingdoms to the first con- 
 queror .... Let me know how the emperor takes this 
 matter, for it concerns all rulers to understand whether it is 
 for the pope at his own pleasure to assume authority and ju- 
 risdiction over them, and to make a prey of their territories 
 and dominions. We for our part are determined never to 
 submit to it." The pope retreated : the citations against the 
 bishops were abandoned, the bull against the Queen of Na- 
 varre was revoked. But a more formidable danger than this 
 threatened Joan not long after, Philip II. having concerted a 
 
 * Monitorium ct Citatio in Mtm. de Cond. 4to. 1743. The French pro- 
 test and remonstrance are in the same collection. A remarkable memoir 
 by Bapt. Dumesnil is given in Bouchel : Bibl. du Droit Frany. p. 549 ; and 
 I'reuves des lib Erjl. Gall. chap. iv. No. 27. 
 
 t The cardinal had occasioned great scandal by taking a wife and calling 
 her Countess of Beauvais, after his diocese. 
 
 R
 
 258 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 plan with Montluc to seize her and her two children, and car- 
 ry them to Spain, where they would be committed to the cru- 
 el mercies of the Inquisition. Treatment like this confirmed 
 the queen in her faith ; she swept her dominions of every ves- 
 tige of Romanism, and denied to her Catholic subjects that re- 
 ligious liberty which she claimed for her co-religionists in 
 France. 
 
 In some respects the province of Gascony, through which the 
 court was now traveling, had suffered more than any part of 
 France from the effects of the war. The Protestants bad- 
 succeeded in putting down Romanism, and at every step he 
 took Charles was reminded of the outrages offered to his 
 religion ; he restored the old form of worship, but the scenes 
 he then witnessed appear never to have been forgotten. As 
 he rode along by the side of the Queen of Navarre, who ac- 
 companied him to Blois, he pointed to the ruined monasteries, 
 the broken crosses, the polluted churches ; he showed her 
 the mutilated images of the Virgin and the saints, the dese- 
 crated grave-yards, the relics scattered to the winds of heaven. 
 The impression of that day's ride long haunted the Protest- 
 ant queen and filled her with a distrust of the king and his 
 mother which she never entirely shook off. 
 
 At the end of the year the king summoned an assembly of 
 Notables to meet at Moulins for the purpose of remedying 
 many grievances that had become known during the recent 
 progress, and also of reconciling the chiefs of the rival fac- 
 tions. The ambiguities of the Edict of Amboise and the ob- 
 stacles to carrying it out fully in many places had already 
 called forth several interpretative edicts, one of which had 
 been published at Roussillon in Dauphiny (August, 1564), re- 
 straining the hitherto unlimited freedom of worship in pri- 
 vate dwellings. The nobles were to admit to their chapels 
 none but members of their household or their vassals; no 
 synods were to be held or collections made in the temples ; 
 and the pastors were forbidden to open schools or preach out 
 of their districts. It farther renewed the injunction for the
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 259 
 
 married priests and nuns to return to their cloisters or leave 
 the kingdom the latter alternative being generally preferred. 
 Moulins in the Bourbonnais is one of the neatest and 
 prettiest towns in France. Of the magnificent castle where 
 Charles and Catherine de Medicis sat in council very little 
 remains save a fragment of a tower, strangely named Malcoif- 
 fec, which rises high above the brick buildings, and a small 
 pavilion built by the queen-mother. Beside the banks of the 
 smiling Allier, and in those irregular streets where many a 
 house of variegated brick, red a/id white, still dates back be- 
 yond this period, were crowded the princes of the blood, sev- 
 eral cardinals and bishops, the chief nobility, and the principal 
 officers of the parliaments of France. The resolutions they 
 adopted were merely administrative, reforming many judicial 
 abuses, but they remained a landmark in French jurispru- 
 dence until all law was swept away in the great Revolution. 
 But law reform was merely a secondary object with Cather- 
 ine. With eveiy motive for desiring a continuance of peace, 
 she saw that this was impossible unless the hostile leaders 
 would agree to lay aside their private feuds and become 
 friends. Between the Guises and Coligny there could be no 
 amity, so long as they held him to be the instigator of the 
 late duke's murder. At the signing of the treaty of Amboise, 
 the Prince of Conde had come forward as a compurgator 
 to adopt a well-known Anglo-Saxon term and taken oath 
 that Coligny was innocent. The family were still dissatisfied. 
 One day a funeral procession was seen in the streets of Meu- 
 lan,* where the court then resided. It was Antoinette of 
 Bourbon, mother of the murdered duke, and Anne of Este, 
 his wife, accompanied by her four children, and attended by 
 their friends and partisans, who in long mourning robes and 
 with veiled faces were going to the king to sue for justice. 
 In gloomy silence, broken only by their sobs, the two ladies 
 
 * Some authorities give " Paris," for even in a matter which ought to be 
 well known do the contemporary accounts differ.
 
 260 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 entered the palace and fell at the king's feet, demanding jus- 
 tice. Charles raised them graciously and promised what 
 they asked. Their case was laid before the Parliament of 
 Paris, from which it was transferred to the privy-council, 
 with the injunction that no farther steps should be taken 
 within three years. Various attempts at reconciliation were 
 made during the interval, and as this blood-feud had indispu- 
 tably very much to do with the massacre of St. Bartholomew, 
 it may not be a waste of time to show the progress of the 
 quarrel. In December, 1563, Morvilliers, Bishop of Orleans, 
 wrote to the Bishop of Rennes, embassador to the emperor : 
 " One would willingly find a way of arrangement between 
 them ; but the means are very difficult considering the offense 
 and the particulars of the feud. It is impossible but at last 
 this should burst (crbve) under some dagger (coustel), and 
 that the one party for revenge or the other for security, 
 should attempt something." Eleven days later the same 
 writer continues : " We are in great trouble through the dif- 
 ference between the family of the late Duke of Guise and 
 the admiral, and many people would be pleased to see a 
 disturbance. The queen-mother does all she can to prevent 
 it : the poor lady watches and toils incessantly."? * Ont he 
 23d December, Morvilliers writes again : " The king and 
 queen are always in trouble through the discords of the 
 Guises and the admiral. No court can settle it, for the 
 admiral objects to the parliaments and the others to the 
 great council." 
 
 Several temporary arrangements had been made, and at 
 last, when the three years had nearly expired, the Guises, 
 whose desire for vengeance had grown all the stronger for 
 being repressed, appeared at Moulins and renewed their cries 
 for justice. On the 12th Januaiy, 1566, Charles published a 
 declaration that " it was his desire to bring the difference 
 about the homicide to a happy issue, and that he forbade 
 
 * Paris : Cab. Hist. iii. p. 56.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 261 
 
 each of the two houses to attempt any thing against the 
 other." After a wearisome series of explanations, more 
 worthy of pettifogging attorneys than of brave soldiers, 
 Coligny, in the presence of the king, declared " that he had 
 not committed the murder or abetted it, and that he had 
 never approved of it, then or now." * With this the widow 
 and the Cardinal of Lorraine expressed themselves satisfied, 
 and declared they would no longer entertain revengeful feel- 
 ings. Thereupon the two parties embraced ; but the young 
 Duke Henry of Guise still held out, and in the very presence 
 of the queen challenged Coligny to single combat. "The 
 admiral charges me," he said, " with plotting his assassination. 
 I will not deny it, but shall esteem it a singular favor to be 
 shut up with him in a room, when I will show him that I 
 am quite capable of defending myself, and need not employ 
 other people to settle my quarrels." 
 
 So far the queen-mother's plans were frustrated, and she 
 was hardly more successful in arranging the difference 
 between Marshal Montmorency and the Cardinal of Lorraine. 
 In consequence of the quarrels between the partisans of 
 the two religions, the possession and carrying of arms 
 especially fire-arms had been strictly prohibited in Paris. 
 Montmorency, " a wise man and loving the public peace," f 
 who after Marshal Brissac's death had been made governor of 
 Paris, enforced the edict in a manner never contemplated 
 by the king. The Cardinal of Lorraine, returning from the 
 Council of Trent, was escorted to the capital by a number of 
 gentlemen and relatives, but they were forbidden to enter un- 
 less they laid aside their spears and arquebuses (8th January, 
 1565). The prelate paid no attention to the order, upon 
 which Montmorency fell upon his escort at the Innocents' 
 Cemetery in the Rue St. Denis, killed some, wounded others, 
 
 * " Qu'il n'avait fait, ni fait faire 1'homicide, et qn'il no 1'avait approuve 
 ni approuvait." Brulart's Journal, 29th January, 1566. This is hardly 
 consistent with what he wrote at the time of the murder : supra, p. 222. 
 
 t Jean de Serres.
 
 262 MASSACRE or ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 and so frightened the churchman that he leaped off his horse 
 and took refuge in a neighboring house, whence he safely 
 reached his own hotel during the night, 
 
 Pale en couleur, do ses membres tremblant, 
 Micux un corps mort qu'homme vif ressemblant. 
 
 The cardinal said he had permission under the king's let- 
 ters patent to travel with an armed retinue. "Then he 
 ought to have shown them to me," said Montmorency, " and I 
 would have allowed him to pass." The governor, rendered un- 
 easy by the threatening posture of the Lorraine party in the 
 city, invited the assistance of Coligny, who entered Paris with 
 1200 gentlemen, greatly to the terror of the citizens, who 
 feared their streets would be converted into a battle-field ; but 
 the admiral conducted himself so prudently, that he was com- 
 plimented by the University and the trade guilds. 
 
 But nothing that the king or his mother could do was ef- 
 fectual to dissipate the mutual distrust with which Catholics 
 and Huguenots still regarded each other. Every act was 
 viewed with suspicion, and to a great extent the misgivings 
 of the Protestants were justified by the way in which the 
 edicts of toleration were strained against them. " The Hu- 
 guenots," says Pasquier, who was no friend to them, " have 
 lost more by edicts in time of peace than by force in time of 
 war." * 
 
 At Lyons they were accused of an attempt to blow up the 
 city with gunpowder, and on this idle charge the governor 
 prevented their assembling for public worship. Every Prot- 
 estant was expelled from Avignon, and the city and surround- 
 ing districts were put under martial law. At Foix a num- 
 ber of Huguenots were murdered ; at Toulouse many were 
 judicially put to death. These are but a small sample of the 
 Protestant grievances. 
 
 A remonstrance presented to the king by the nobles of the 
 
 * Lettres, liv. v. lett. 3.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 263 
 
 Reformed religion in Maine displays a terrible picture of the 
 distui-bed state of that province. The Dame do la Guynan- 
 diere was murdered, with her son, three daughters, and two 
 waiting-women, by a troop of ruffians from Le Mans, who aft- 
 erward turned the pigs into the house to devour the dead 
 bodies. The bishop of the diocese, a man of dissolute life, 
 used to ride about attended by one hundred and fifty men 
 armed with pistols or arquebuses. One Helie, a priest, was 
 accused of indescribable acts of brutality toward nine little 
 girls. That and many other such horrors fill a pamphlet of 
 more than one hundred pages, and the perpetrators (as was 
 usually the case) escaped punishment.* 
 
 On the other hand, the Catholics had their complaints. At 
 Pamiers the Huguenots attacked a procession, killed some of 
 the clergy and burned their houses.f At Soissons they pil- 
 laged the churches, demolished the beautiful painted windows, 
 broke the organ, melted the bells, stripped the lead off the 
 roofs, plundered the shrines of their gold and jewels, burned 
 the relics of the saints, and tore up the charters and title- 
 deeds belonging to the clergy. Similar tumults occurred at 
 Montauban and other towns. Where the Catholics were the 
 strongest, they fell upon the Huguenots; where the latter, 
 they attacked the Catholics. At one time there is a rumor of 
 an attempt to assassinate the king ; at another, of an atrocious 
 book ascribed to Bureau, a Protestant pastor, in which the doc- 
 trine is boldly affirmed that " it is lawful to slay a king or a 
 queen who resists the Gospel Reformation." Then an anony- 
 mous letter is found at the door of Catherine's bed-chamber, 
 threatening her with the fate of President Minard and the 
 Duke of Guise, unless she permits complete liberty of con- 
 science to the Reformed party. 
 
 Many of the atrocities we have recorded were owing to the 
 weakness of the central government. It must be remembered 
 
 * Remonstrance envoyee au Roi par In Noblesse de la R. R. du Maine. 
 1565. 
 t Cimbcr, vi. 309; Discours des troubles (5th June, 15GG).
 
 264 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 that the several provinces of France were under their own 
 governors, who held their offices by an almost hereditary 
 right, and that the king had not always the power, even when 
 he had the inclination, to preserve peace. There were few 
 like that rough warrior Montluc, who kept Gascony so quiet 
 that for three years "horseman or footman did not steal so 
 much as a pullet." He hanged two Catholic soldiers for in- 
 fringing the edict, and two Huguenots who had committed a 
 similar offense " were shortly strung up to keep the others 
 company." And he continues : " When these good people 
 saw that neither one side nor the other would meet with any 
 indulgence if they transgressed, they began to like and associ- 
 ate with one another. I believe if every one had done the 
 same, without favor to either side, we should never have had 
 so many troubles." 
 
 Charles, whose dislike toward " those of the religion " need- 
 ed no stimulus, occasionally indulged in bursts of irritation 
 which he was too young to repress. One day when the ad- 
 miral remonstrated with him on the restrictions put upon the 
 last edict, he replied : " Not long ago you were satisfied to 
 be tolerated by the Catholics, now you want to be their 
 equals; in a short time, I suppose you will desire to be alone 
 and to drive us from the kingdom." Coligny made no reply, 
 as indeed no reply would have satisfied the angry boy, who 
 burst int his mother's apartments, and added, after telling 
 her what had passed : " The Duke of Alva was right : such 
 heads are too tall in a state. We must put them down by 
 force." * Catherine appears at this time to have been exceed- 
 ingly ill-disposed toward Coligny. Writing to her daughter 
 Isabella, she says : " Although the admiral remains at court, 
 he will be as one dead ;f because, with God's help, I shall not 
 
 * This was said in the hearing of L'Hopital. Dnvila, i. 163 (Fr. transl.). 
 
 t "II y sera comme s'il e'tait raort." Archives dc 1'Empire, Pajriers Si- 
 mancas, carton B. In reading Catherine's letters to her daughter we must 
 not forget that they were to be seen by Philip also, and that she could not 
 be truthful, even when writing to her own children.
 
 MASSACHE OF ST. BAETHOLOMEW. 265 
 
 suffer myself to be governed by either party, for I know they 
 all love God, the king, and your mother less than their own ad- 
 vantage and ambition ; and as they know full well that I will 
 not permit the king or the kingdom to be ruined by them, 
 they love me in words only." 
 
 It was about this time also that several German princes, 
 including the Palatine of the Rhine and the Dukes of Saxony 
 and Wurtemberg, dispatched an embassy to Charles, inter- 
 ceding in behalf of their French co-religionists. With expres- 
 sions of great attachment, they prayed him to observe the 
 Edict of Pacification; to permit the ministers to preach as 
 well at Paris as elsewhere, and to allow the people to listen 
 to them in any number. He answered them sharply that he 
 could be friends with his cousins of Germany only so long as 
 they abstained from meddling in the domestic affairs of his 
 kingdom. After a pause he continued in a still more angry 
 tone : " I might also pray them to permit the Catholics to 
 worship freely in their own cities." It was an apt retort, for 
 so far as concerned public worship the Romanists in many 
 parts of Protestant Gennany and Switzerland were very lit- 
 tle, if at all, better off than the Huguenots of France. 
 
 Every thing seemed tending toward an explosion. The 
 Huguenots and the Catholics, like two hostile nations on the 
 same soil, were ready to fly at each other, and the treacher- 
 ous truce, which substituted riots and assassination for open 
 war, could not last much longer. Still the actual rupture 
 might have been deferred, but for circumstances connected 
 with the state of the Netherlands. The Protestants of that 
 country had been goaded into rebellion by the infamous per- 
 secutions of Philip II. of Spain. William, Prince of Orange, 
 put himself at their head, and although unsuccessful, the 
 movement was considered so dangerous that the ferocious and 
 uncompromising Alva was commissioned to crush it utterly. 
 For this purpose it was necessary to increase the Spanish 
 army in Flanders ; and as that could not be done by sea, on 
 which the rebels were superior, a force of ten thousand picked
 
 266 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 veterans * was transported from Carthagena to Genoa, whence 
 they made their way through the passes of Mont Cenis into 
 Burgundy and Lorraine. Catherine, who distrusted Philip, 
 thought it prudent to watch their march, and for that purpose 
 collected all the forces she could muster to form an army of 
 observation. These being insufficient for the purpose, Conde 
 and the admiral advised the enrolment of 6000 Swiss merce- 
 naries.! The queen, delighted at such an opportunity of rais- 
 ing soldiers without offending the susceptibility of the Hu- 
 guenots, promptly acted upon the advice. But when the 
 prince asked for the command of the troops with the quality 
 of lieutenant-general of the kingdom, the constable withdraw- 
 ing his claim on account of his age, she fenced and prevari- 
 cated, although the appointment was promised in one of the se- 
 cret articles of the late treaty of peace. The Duke of Anjou, 
 Catherine's favorite son, aspired to the same office, and hear- 
 ing of Cond6's application, the insolent boy said to him : " If 
 ever I catch you failing in respect to me, I will make you as 
 little as you aspire to be great." J Surprised at such language, 
 the prince left the court. 
 
 As soon as the Spanish troops had crossed the frontier and 
 entered the Netherlands, it was expected that the royal army 
 would be disbanded ; but, instead of that, it was marched to 
 the neighborhood of Paris. This was of itself quite enough 
 to excite the alarm of the Huguenot leaders, who were 
 farther startled by information of a plot to seize both Conde 
 and the admiral ; to imprison the former for life, and put 
 
 * Brantome speaks in rapture of this " gentille et gaillarde armce," which 
 was accompanied by "quatre cents courtisanes a cheval, belles ct braves 
 comme princesses, et huit cents a pied, bien en point aussi." 
 
 t Had Coligny's proposal to stop Alva's march been adopted, France might 
 have been saved much misery ; for among other things it would have satis- 
 fied the craving for war felt by that restless nation : " A quoi (sc. la guerre) 
 la plupart e'taient porte's par le ge'nie de la nation, qui ne saurait demeurer 
 en repos." Vie de Coliyny^ p. 319. 
 
 t Schardius : De Rc.bus fje.it. sub. Maximil. ii. G4. 
 
 Bouillon: Mem. i. p. 21.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 267 
 
 the other to death ; and to place garrisons in the towns fa- 
 vorable to the Reformed religion, the exercise of which was 
 to be prohibited all over th.e kingdom.* The heads of the 
 Huguenot party immediately took council with the admiral 
 at his castle of Chatillon. Their deliberations were long and 
 serious. Xo doubt seems to have been entertained regarding 
 the truth of the report. The suspicions aroused by the 
 Bayonne meeting, corroborated by stories of the projected 
 massacre at Moulins, which failed only because the Hugue- 
 nots were present in too great number, were strengthened by 
 the insolence of Anjou and the queen-mother's insincerity. 
 The edicts of toleration had not been fairly brought into oper- 
 ation ; new interpretation edicts were continually encroaching 
 upon the privileges of the Reformed ; Alva was at hand in 
 Flanders to assist in carrying out the scheme he had suggest- 
 ed only a few months before. Men in a panic never reason 
 fairly, never indeed examine into the truth of the rumors by 
 which their alarm has been roused. It was so in the present 
 instance when the more violent party said : " Shall we tarry 
 until they come and bind us hand and foot, and so draw us 
 unto their scaffold at Paris, there by our shameful deaths to 
 glut others' cruelty ? Do we not see the foreign enemy march- 
 ing armed toward us, and threatening to be revenged on us 
 for Dreux ? Have we forgotten that about 3000 of our re- 
 ligion have, since the peace, endured violent deaths, for whom 
 we can have no redress ? If it were our king's will we should 
 be thus injured, we might perhaps the better bear it; but shall 
 we bear the insolence of those who shroud themselves under 
 his name and try to alienate his good-will from us ? For more 
 than forty years our fathers professed the true religion in se- 
 cret, and endured all sorts of tortures and injuries with pa- 
 tience inexhaustible. If we who are so numerous, and who 
 are able to .profess our religion openly, should betray a right- 
 
 * Capefigue: La Reforme, ch. xxxii., gives the text of the "Instruction 
 a M. Feuquieres." La Noue speaks of "certain intercepted letters coming 
 from Spain," p. 389 (Engl. transl.).
 
 268 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 cous cause by a disgraceful silence and unseasonable modera- 
 tion, we should fall into an apostasy unworthy of the two 
 goodly titles of Christian and gentleman. We should be 
 wanting not only to ourselves but to God, and besides losing 
 our own souls should be the cause of ruin to others."* Co- 
 ligny advised them to be patient : " I see clearly how we may 
 rekindle the fire," he said ; " but not where we may find water 
 to quench it." His brother Andelot was for more vigorous 
 measures : " If we wait until we are shut up in prison, what 
 will our patience avail us ? If we give our enemies the advan- 
 tage of striking the first blow, we shall never recover from it." 
 But before coming to a final decision, a deputation of the Hu- 
 guenot nobility waited upon Catherine and entreated her to 
 be more just to their co-religionists. Their reception was 
 such that there seemed no alternative left them but to draw 
 the sword. 
 
 It was an unfortunate decision, and not justified by the real 
 facts. But the mistake committed by the Huguenot chiefs is 
 patent enough, and they were thought by their contemporaries 
 to have acted very wisely. La Popeliniere, whose evidence on 
 this point is of great weight, speaks of " the approach of the 
 Swiss who had been levied under color of preventing the en- 
 trance of the King of Spain and the Queen of England ; and 
 since then, the necessity having passed, the declaration made 
 to them by Barbazieux, the king's lieutenant in Champagne, 
 that they were to be employed against those of the religion."f 
 Alva, in a letter to his royal master, written on the 28th June, 
 1567, testifies to the satisfaction felt in France at the vicinity 
 of the Spanish troops.J Languet writes from Strasburg on 
 
 * La Noue, p. 390 (Enpl. transl.) ; De Thou, liv. xlii. 
 
 f La Popeliniere, xiii. 81. 
 
 I Alva to king, 28th June, 1567: "Es increible el contcntamiento con 
 que estan los catolicos de Francia do vcr pasar estas fuerzas de VM. en 
 Flandrcs, que les paresce ser esta su redempcion ; y asi me dijo un secre- 
 tario del Card, do Lorena .... quo el Card, su amo y toda la cnsa de 
 Guisa estavan resueltos como las fuerzas de VM. estuviesen en Flandres, 
 irsc ellos a la corte, donde entien que csto les hara tan gran sombra que
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 269 
 
 the 22d October, that the Huguenot chiefs knew for certain 
 that the pope and the other princes who had conspired against 
 the true religion, had determined, as soon as it was put down 
 in Lower Germany, to do the same in France, and for that pur- 
 pose the king had raised a strong force of Swiss." * 
 
 The Huguenot counterplot Avas to seize the king and his moth- 
 er, then residing at her castle of Monceaux in Brie, just as 
 the Guise faction had seized them five years before. Indistinct 
 rumors of a Protestant rising reached the court, and a messen- 
 ger was sent to watch the admiral. On his return he report- 
 ed that he had found the old warrior busily engaged hi getting 
 in his vintage.f Two days later (28th September, 1567), all 
 France was in flames. Fifty towns were seized, and a strong 
 force of Huguenot cavalry was preparing for a dash upon 
 Meaux, about ten leagues east of Paris, whither the court had 
 proceeded upon the first intelligence of the outbreak. Confu- 
 sion prevailed in that little city : Catherine feared to leave it 
 lest she should be intercepted by the Huguenots, and the Swiss 
 troops, though not far off, were not so near as the cavalry 
 under Conde. The Swiss were ordered to be brought up with 
 all speed ; but L'Hopital suggested that the wiser plan would 
 be to disband those mercenaries a concession which would 
 satisfy the Huguenots, and induce them to lay down their 
 arms. " Will you guarantee that they have no other aim than 
 to serve the king?" asked Catherine. "I will," he replied, 
 "if I am assured there is no intention of deceiving them." 
 But either the queen was meditating treachery, as L'Hopital's 
 remark would almost imply, or the risk appeared too great. 
 The Swiss made their appearance, and, under their safeguard, 
 
 scran vistos diferentemente de como lo ban sido hasta aqui." Navarretc : 
 Docum. ined. vi. 371. 
 
 * " Certo sciverunt Pontif. Rom. et reliquos principcs .... constitu- 
 issc jam tcntare Gallinm .... conduxit itaqne rex ad earn rem perfici- 
 cndam xx. signa Helvetiorum." To the same purport writes Castelnau, 
 383. 
 
 t "Habillc en me'nagier faisant ses vendanpes." Pasquier, Lettres, ii. 
 117(cd. 1723).
 
 270 MASSACRE or ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 the king reached Paris in twelve hours. " But for Nemours and 
 my good friends the Swiss, I should have lost both liberty and 
 life," said Charles. The Duke of Nemours, who, from his 
 marriage with Anne of Este, widow of the murdered Duke 
 Francis, was held in great respect by the Guises, commanded 
 a body of volunteers composed of gentlemen attached to the 
 court, who acted as a sort of light cavalry, and covered the 
 king's retreat. More than once Charles turned upon his pur- 
 suers and fought at the head of his gallant little body-guard. 
 The constable, seeing the unnecessary danger to which he ex- 
 posed himself, caught his horse by the bridle and stopped him, 
 saying : " Your majesty should not risk your person like this : 
 it is too dear to us to permit you to be accompanied by a troop 
 of less than 10,000 French gentlemen." 
 
 But Conde with his five hundred horse could do nothing 
 against the 6000 Swiss, who " stood fast awhile and then 
 retired close, still turning their head as doth the wild boar 
 whom the hunters pursue." * The prince had lost his oppor- 
 tunity. While he was wasting time in an idle conference 
 with Montmorency, whom the queen-mother had ostensibly 
 sent to demand the cause of his arming, the Swiss were hur- 
 rying to Meaux with the utmost speed. His irresolution Avas 
 a great mistake : he ought never to have made the attempt 
 to seize the king's person, or to have risked every thing to 
 clutch the prize Avithin his reach. His failure made him a 
 traitor as Avell as a rebel, and inflamed the anger of Charles 
 against the Huguenots more than success could have done.f 
 In the latter case the king Avould, in spite of appearances, 
 have found them to be loyal and faithful subjects, and Avould 
 have had the best of evidence that in their hands neither his 
 life nor his liberty were imperiled. As it AA'as, he never for- 
 gave their attempt to seize him, and he swore with one of 
 
 * La Noue, p. 395 (Engl. transl.)- 
 
 t Had the Huguenots succeeded, they would have burned Paris. For the 
 proofs of such an improbable story see Hist, 'rel'uj. pol. etc. de la Comj>. de 
 Jesus, by J. Cretineau-Joly (3 ed. Paris, 1859), ii. ch. ii. p. 85.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 27X 
 
 his usual blasphemous oaths, that he would some day be re- 
 venged on them. 
 
 The Cardinal of Lorraine, knowing that he had little to hope 
 for should he fall into the hands of the Huguenot chiefs, fled 
 in another direction, losing his baggage on the road, and 
 got safe to Rheims, where he entered into a traitorous cor- 
 respondence with the King of Spain, offering to place several 
 frontier towns in his hands, and support his claims to the 
 throne of France in right of his wife.* But his plots were 
 frustrated by the course of events. 
 
 Both parties now made the most strenuous exertions to 
 increase their forces. The king, writing to Simiane de Gor- 
 des, governor of Dauphiny, instructing him to raise troops 
 and keep down the heretics, uses language worthy of the 
 St. Bartholomew : " You will cut them in pieces, not 
 sparing one, for the more dead the fewer enemies" f Before 
 the actual outbreak of hostilities, attempts were made by the 
 Moderates, or Parti Politiquc, to effect a reconciliation. 
 Conde demanded complete toleration of the Reformed relig- 
 ion all over the kingdom, without distinction of place or 
 person ; to which Charles IX. replied, through Marshal 
 Montmorency, that " he would not tolerate two religions in 
 his kingdom." There was nothing more to be done : the 
 sword must decide between them. The train-bands of Paris 
 were called out ; new taxes were imposed ; the clergy made 
 a voluntary gift of 250,000 crowns, a loan of 100,000 crowns 
 was raised at Venice, and one to a similar amount at Flor- 
 ence. 
 
 Although the Huguenot force was very small 7! 200 foot 
 and 1500 horse the chiefs boldly marched to Paris, which 
 they hoped to blockade and starve into submission before any 
 
 * Gachard : Correct. Philippe //., torn. i. p. 593. 
 
 t " Car tant plus dc morts, moeingz d'cnnemys." Letter of 8th October, 
 1567. LivreduRoy. Grenoble MS. Gordcs proving too merciful in carry- 
 ing out these harsh instructions, the cruel and intemperate Maugiron was 
 appointed his colleague.
 
 272 MASSACRE or ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 help could reach that city from the more distant provinces. 
 But here again Catherine's wonderful talent for negotiation 
 was exerted to keep the Protestant leaders in check, until 
 the reinforcements impetuously summoned from various 
 quarters were hurriedly marched into the capital. Conde 
 had placarded the walls of Paris with a protest that he had 
 taken up arms only to deliver the king's subjects from the 
 oppression of Italian favorites ; but he was no match for 
 those wily Italians who, now feeling safe, broke off the nego- 
 tiations. On the 10th November, the Huguenots found 
 themselves in the presence of the royal forces on the great 
 plain of St. Denis. It was then quite open and highly culti- 
 vated, the only buildings on it were a soliatry farm-house and 
 a few windmills. Across it ran that broad highway, along 
 which travelers from the north used to pass before the rail- 
 road had diverted the living stream. The troops under 
 Constable Montmorency were five times more numerous than 
 those under Conde, and had the advantage of artillery. The 
 scene of the contest was about a mile from Paris, between 
 Montmartre, Pantin, and St. Denis. The gibbet of Mont- 
 fau9on was on the edge of the field. Being so near the walls, 
 crowds of idlers, including many women, went to look on.* 
 Ballad singers were already celebrating Montmorency's vic- 
 tory, quacks on their frail platforms were extolling their 
 salves and plasters for wounds ; the swindlers and ruffians, 
 the cheats and rogues, who live by the vices, or prey upon 
 the weaknesses of society all the vermin of a great city 
 were there in crowds ; monks mingled in the throng, chant- 
 ing their litanies and selling beads ; and more numerous than 
 all was that foul horde which always gathers, like birds of 
 prey, upon a battle-field. 
 
 There was not much time to lose in manoeuvring, for the 
 day was drawing to a close. Conde charged furiously upon 
 
 * As crowds of American ladies are reported to have gone out to witness 
 the first battle of Bull Run.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 273 
 
 the advancing enemy, sweeping every thing before him, so 
 much to the admiration of the spectators that they loudly 
 applauded the gallant Huguenots. " If my master had only 
 6000 horsemen like those white-coats* yonder," exclaimed 
 the sultan's envoy, who had been watching the fight from the 
 city walls, " he would soon be master of the world." But the 
 Huguenots were so outnumbered that they were gradually 
 hemmed in by the larger masses of the enemy, and compelled 
 to retreat. The approach of night saved them from farther 
 disaster. The battle was fatal to the constable, who seems 
 to have fallen a victim to private malice. In the heat of .a 
 charge, when wounded and separated from his troops, he saw 
 one Robert Stuart ride up to him and present a pistol. The 
 constable, expecting to be made a prisoner, called out : " You 
 do not know me !" " It is just because I do know you," 
 replied the Scotchman, " that I give you this." And he 
 fired,t the ball shattering Montmorency's shoulder and throw- 
 ing him to the ground, not however before he had broken 
 Stuart's jaw with the fragment of the sword he still grasped 
 in his warlike hand. His death was like his life. When a 
 priest approached to administer religious consolation, he 
 smilingly begged to be left in peace, " for it would be a 
 shameful thing," he added, " to have known how to live 
 fourscore years, and not know how to die one short quar- 
 ter of an hour." The queen-mother went to visit him before 
 his death, and, as she bent over his bed to console him, he 
 advised her to make peace as soon as possible, adding that 
 " the shortest follies are the best."| Marshal Vieillcvillc was 
 
 * The Huguenots adopted white, the king's color, to indicate their loyalty ; 
 their opponents chose red, the emblem of Spain. 
 
 t One account says that the constable was really killed by " un autre 
 Ecossais, " who shot him in the loins. 
 
 J " Expetebat pacem, et ob earn rem adduxcrant cum in suspicionem 
 apud vulgus ii qni sperant sc ex calami tatibtis publicis aucturos suas opes ft 
 suam potentiam .... Fuit amans patriae et moderatior," etc. Lnngne 1 , 
 Ej,ist. i. 33. 
 
 s
 
 274 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 of the same opinion. " It was not your majesty that gained 
 the battle," said he to the king, " much less the Prince of 
 Conde !" " Who then gained it ?" asked Charles. " The 
 King of Spain," answered Vieilleville ; "for on both sides 
 valiant captains and brave soldiers have fallen, enough to 
 conquer Flanders and the Low Countries." The united loss 
 was nearly six hundred. 
 
 The death of the constable was a serious blow to the Mod- 
 erate party, although he did not actually belong to them. He 
 had learned wisdom as he advanced in life, showing himself 
 one of those rare men rare at all times, but especially so- in 
 the sixteenth century who could accommodate themselves 
 to altered circumstances. His deep loyalty to the crown 
 made him suspicious of the Lorraine faction ; and his rela- 
 tionship to Conde and the Chatillons tempered the zeal of 
 his orthodoxy. He saw clearly that no one would gain by 
 the war, except the enemies of France. Languet adds that, 
 taught by experience, Montmorency had learned that the Hu- 
 guenots could not be crushed without the ruin of the king- 
 dom; and he labored strenuously to carry out the Pacifica- 
 tion of Amboise to the great disgust of the pope and Philip 
 of Spain.* 
 
 Before the end of the year, a body of 2000 foot and 1500 
 horse, dispatched by Alva from Flanders under the Count 
 of Aremberg, accompanied by a choice band of the Catholic 
 nobility of the Low Countries, had joined the royal camp of 
 Paris. At the same time the Huguenots were expecting 
 reinforcements from Germany, and, in order to meet them, 
 Conde left his head-quarters at Chalons, marched above 
 twenty leagues in three days, through the rain and over bad 
 roads, losing neither wagons nor artillery. There was some 
 doubt whether the royal forces would not intercept the Ger- 
 mans before they could join the Huguenots. " And what 
 
 * Edoctus suo malo .... omnino hoc incumbit ut Edictum tibiquc 
 inandctur execution!. " Languet, Ejiist. ii. 357.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 275 
 
 you do, in case they do not come to the rendezvous ?" 
 asked some one of Conde. " I think we should have to blow 
 on our fingers," he jestingly replied, " for the weather is 
 very cold." But they were not reduced to such extremity, 
 having formed a successful junction with the German aux- 
 iliaries, commanded by John Casimir, son of the elector- 
 palatine. This force consisted of 7000 cavalry and 4000 
 infantry all mercenary troops who fought solely for pay 
 and plunder. Before they would move another step, the 
 reiters (as they were called) demanded a bounty of 100,000 
 crowns ; and as the military chest was empty, the French 
 force voluntarily subscribed money, jewels, rings, gold chains, 
 and other ornaments to the amount of 30,000 crowns, with 
 which the Germans, astonished at so much self-denial, were 
 momentarily satisfied. "Even soldiers, lackeys, and boys 
 gave every one somewhat," says La ISToue, " so as in the end 
 it was accounted a dishonor to have given a little." The old 
 warrior takes the opportunity furnished by this incident to 
 describe some of the difficulties with which the Huguenot 
 chiefs had to contend. It required "great art and diligence 
 to feed an unpaid army of above 20,000 men." The admiral 
 was remarkably careful in all the arrangements of his- com- 
 missariat department, and acted up to the spirit of the old 
 saying, that " a soldier fights upon his belly." Whenever 
 there was any question of forming an army, he used to say : 
 " Let us begin the shaping of this monster by the belly." 
 " This devouring animal," continues La Noue, " passing 
 through so many provinces, could still find some pasture 
 wherewith was sometimes mixed the poor man's garment, 
 yea, and the friend's too ; so sore did necessity and desire to 
 catch incite those that wanted no excuses to color their 
 spoil." 
 
 Civil war now raged with increased fury all over France. 
 Although the two main armies did not again come into col- 
 lision, there were little partisan campaigns in every province 
 and almost every largo town. It was during this period
 
 276 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 that Nismes became the theatre of that terrible tragedy 
 known as the Michelade, from its occurring at the feast of 
 St. Michael in 1567. The new doctrines had made such prog- 
 ress in the old Roman city that, in the year 1562, the mu- 
 nicipal council decided that the cathedral with some other 
 churches should be made over to the Reformed, and farther 
 ordered the bells of the convents to be cast into cannon, the 
 convents to be let " for the good of the state, 5 * the relics 
 and their shrines to be sold, and the non-conforming priests 
 to leave the city. Damville, governor of Languedoc, and 
 second son of the Constable Montmorency,was sent to Nismes 
 to restore order, which' he succeeded in doing by severe 
 and arbitrary measures. At Uzes, a person named Mouton 
 having ventured to blame these high-handed proceedings, 
 was taken . and hanged on the spot without any form of 
 trial.* If such was the beginning, we may imagine what the 
 Reformed had to suffer afterward. At length a trifling 
 circumstance led to an explosion. About six in the morning 
 of the 30th September, 1567, the second day of St. Michael's 
 fair, some Albanians belonging to Damville's guard, lounging 
 outside the city gates, stopped several women bringing veg- 
 etables to market, and in mere wantonness upset the baskets 
 and trampled upon their contents. There was an immediate 
 uproar : the women screamed, the neighbors ran to their 
 assistance, and the crowd was swelled by the peasants coming 
 from the country, at whose menacing gestures the foreigners 
 drew their swords to defend themselves. On a sudden there 
 was a shout : "To arms ! to arms ! Kill the Papists !" 
 Hundreds rushed out of their houses and collected on the 
 esplanade. The Consul Gui Rochette tried to calm them, but 
 they violently rejected his prudent advice. When the news 
 of the tumult reached the bishop he exclaimed : " This is 
 the prince of darkness ! blessed be the holy name of Heav- 
 en !" and then knelt down in prayer, momentarily expecting 
 
 * Borrel: Hist, de tEylise 2lt ! f. de Nimes, 12mo. Toulouse, 1856, p. 51.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 277 
 
 martyrdom. He succeeded, however, in escaping from the 
 mob, who, in their angry disappointment, sacked his palace 
 and killed the vicar-general. A number of Catholics, includ- 
 ing the consul and his brother, had been shut up in the 
 cellars of the episcopal residence. About an hour before 
 midnight they were dragged out and led into that grey old 
 court-yard, where the imagination can still detect the traces 
 of that cruel massacre.* One by one the victims came forth ; 
 a few steps, and they fell pierced by sword or pike. Some 
 struggled with their murderers, and tried to escape, but only 
 prolonged their agony. By the dim light of a few torches 
 between seventy and eighty unhappy wretches were butch- 
 ered in cold blood, and their bodies, some only half-dead, 
 were thown into the well in one corner of the yard, not far 
 from an orange-tree, the leaves of which (says local tradition) 
 were ever afterward marked with the blood-stains of this 
 massacre. 
 
 The Michelade has been contrasted with the St. Bartholo- 
 mew, but there is this difference between the two crimes: 
 the former was committed in despite of the exhortations of 
 the pastors, and no one has attempted to justify it. After 
 the peace of Longjumeau, the Parliament of Toulouse prose- 
 cuted all who had taken any part in the murders. More 
 than a hundred persons were condemned by default to be 
 hanged and to pay 200,000 livres, of which 60,000 were 
 allotted to the repair of the churches, 6000 to Gui's widow, 
 and the remainder to the families of the victims. Only four 
 were caught, who, after being dragged through the city at 
 the horse's tail, were beheaded, and their quarters hung up 
 over the principal gates. In the September of the following 
 year, the brutal scenes of violence were renewed : the city 
 was plundered, and its streets were dyed with Catholic blood. 
 The governor, St. Andre, was shot and thrown out of the 
 
 * Barnpnon : Uist. de Nimes, torn, ii.; an anonymous Histoire de la Villede 
 Nimes, SVo. Amstcrd. 1767.
 
 278 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 window, and his corpse was torn in pieces by the lawless 
 mob. 
 
 In the country round Nismes forty-eight unresisting Cath- 
 olics were murdered ; and at Alais the Huguenots massacred 
 seven canons, two grey-friars, and several other churchmen. 
 Even at the little town of Gap, far away among the Upper 
 Alps, the followers of the two religions, who had hitherto 
 lived together on friendly terms, now sought each other's 
 blood. The outbreak was occasioned by the attempt of the 
 Catholics to wear a white cross a badge of distinction re- 
 cently adopted among the Romanists. The two parties came 
 to blows, and, says their historian, "they vied with one an- 
 other in cruelty." * It was the same wherever the two armies 
 marched. " Our people," writes Languet, " burn all the mon- 
 asteries and destroy all the churches they come near : but the 
 Germans (that is, the reiters) spoil friends and enemies alike." 
 Castelnau confirms this statement : " When Blois capitulated, 
 faith was not kept with the governor and inhabitants on the 
 ground that the Catholics boasted of not keeping their prom- 
 ise to the Huguenots. So that on both sides the droit des 
 gens was violated without any shame. . . . What the Hu- 
 guenots spared was plundered by the Catholics."f Even 
 the dead were not left in peace ; in more than one instance 
 the corpses were exhumed and treated with savage barbar- 
 ity. 
 
 But these scattered hostilities^ much as they increased the 
 misery of France, had very little influence on the main course 
 of events. So long as Conde and Coligny were in the field, 
 the cause of independence was safe. The young Duke of An- 
 jou, who, as lieutenant-general of the kingdom, had been put 
 at the head of the royal forces, was no match for his experi- 
 enced antagonists ; nor could he always check the dissensions 
 
 * Charronet : Les Guerres de Religion dans les Ilautes Aljies, p. 50. (8vo. 
 Gap, 1863). 
 
 t "Ce qui restait du pillage des Huguenots etait rcpille' par les Catho- 
 liqnes." Castelnau.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 279 
 
 between the veteran generals who, nominally under his orders, 
 were really the directors of all his movements. The Hugue- 
 not leaders saw the favorable opportunity, and, with unex- 
 pected caution and rapidity, Conde moved his army toward 
 Chartres, hi the hope of securing it as a base of operations 
 against Paris. But the Royalists were too quick for him, and 
 the garrison was reinforced before he could reach the city. 
 Determined to take the town at all hazards for it was on the 
 main line of communication between Paris and the west and 
 south Coligny pressed the siege, when Catherine, seeing that 
 affairs had reached a crisis, took the bold step of appearing 
 in the enemy's camp. 
 
 A timely remonstrance from the pen of Chancellor L'llopi- 
 tal had a marked effect in turning the minds of the people to- 
 ward peace. Beginning with a comparison of the two parties 
 he says, " The Huguenots are not a mob hastily collected to- 
 gether, but men, warlike, resolute, and in .despair . . . ready 
 to venture all that men hold most dear in defense of their 
 wives and children. The Catholic party is ill-constructed, all 
 are tired of the war, and, even among the common people, 
 there is nothing but murmuring. . . . To exterminate the en- 
 emy is impossible, unless you would fill the country with pes- 
 tilence, famine, and starvation. Look at Champagne a des- 
 ert, so utterly wretched that there is nothing left the poor in- 
 habitants but to die of hunger and despair. . . . But if we 
 could destroy them all, what will you do with their innocent 
 children ? If you, spare them, will they not grow up to avenge 
 their fathers ? If the king should lose a battle, he would be 
 deserted by thousands who now follow him through fear or 
 love of plunder : it would be the destruction of his throne." 
 After combating the arguments of those who contend that 
 the king is bound to punish rebels, and that he can not capitu- 
 late with his subjects, he advises Charles " to use clemency, 
 as he shall meet it from God ; to forget his own resentment 
 toward his subjects, and they will forget their evil dispositions 
 toward him, and forget their very selves to honor and obey
 
 280 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 him." * If the queen-mother was not influenced by these ar- 
 guments, she saw at least that it was time to put an end to the 
 war. She had often boasted that her tongue and her pen were 
 more than a match for the lances of her enemies ; and their 
 power was never more strikingly shown than in the present 
 instance. She offered an amnesty for all past offenses, and 
 an unconditional acquiescence in the demands of her son's 
 " loyal though misguided subjects." The admiral was suspi- 
 cious, and hesitated. " They have not forgiven us the surprise 
 of Meaux," he said. "But the desire of all for peace," ob- 
 serves La Nouc, " was as a whirlwind which they could not 
 resist." f Meanwhile the Huguenot army melted away, whole 
 bodies going off without asking leave, and Conde hurried- 
 ly signed the Treaty of Longjumeau (20th March, 1568),J 
 which restored the Edict of Amboise, bound the court to pay 
 the foreign auxiliaries in the rebel service, and left the Re- 
 formed party, says Mezeray, " at the mercy of their enemies, 
 Avith no other guarantee than the word of an Italian wom- 
 an.'^ 
 
 While the admiral was negotiating the treaty of Longjumeau 
 his wife fell ill and died at Orleans of a fever contracted in 
 the course of her charitable labors in that crowded and un- 
 healthy city. As soon as she felt the approaches of death, she 
 wrote the following pathetic letter to her husband : " I feel 
 very unhappy in dying so far from you, whom I have always 
 loved more than myself ; but I take comfort from the knowl- 
 edge that you are kept away from me by the best of motives. 
 I entreat you, by the love you bear me, and by the children I 
 leave you as pledges of my love, to fight to the last extremity 
 for God's service and the advancement of religion. . . . Train 
 up our children in the pure religion, so that if you fail them, 
 
 * " Discours des Raisons," etc., in Anc. Collect. M&n. France, xlviii. p. 224. 
 
 t La None, p. 409. 
 
 I Lonpjumcau is about four leagues south of Paris, on the old coach-road 
 to Orleans. 
 
 Mezeray: Abrfye, iii. p. 10."1. Montlnc says: "Le prince et I'nmiral 
 fircnt un pas de ckrc, car ils avaient 1'avantage des jcux.'' Comment.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 281 
 
 they may one day take your place ; and as they can not yet 
 spare you, do not expose your life more than is necessary. 
 Beware of the house of Guise ; I know not whether I ought to 
 say the same of the queen-mother, being forbidden to judge 
 evilly of my neighbor; but she has given so many marks of 
 her ambition that a little distrust is pardonable." It was two 
 or three days before the admiral could leave the army, and 
 when he reached Orleans all was over. His wife had been 
 dead twenty-four hours, leaving him with three boys and one 
 girl. For a time the bereaved husband was inconsolable : " Oh, 
 God, what have I done ?" he exclaimed, in the anguish of his 
 heart ; " what have I done that I should be so severely chas- 
 tised, so overwhelmed with calamities ?" At last the consola- 
 tions of religion began to temper his sorrow. " Would that I 
 might lead a holier life and present a better example of godli- 
 ness ! Most Holy Father, look upon me, if it please thee, and 
 in the multitude of thy mercies, relieve my sufferings !" * As 
 soon as the state of affairs permitted he retired to his estate 
 at Chatillon, but was not long permitted to enjoy the. rest 
 and privacy he sought. In a short time he became the centre 
 of a little court. The crowd was so great that, " when two 
 gentlemen left by one door, twenty entered by another." The 
 admiral was so beloved that he was overwhelmed with pres- 
 ents, the members of his party forcing them upon him not- 
 withstanding his protests. " It is only right," they urged, " to 
 help the man who is ruining himself for love of us." 
 
 Peace found the finances of the kingdom in a very dilapi- 
 dated condition. The expenditure was eighteen millions of 
 livres, and the revenue less than half that amount ; besides 
 which there were arrears due to the foreign auxiliaries not 
 only those whom Conde had enrolled, but a large body under 
 the Duke of Saxony, who claimed five months' pay, although 
 they had not drawn a sword and scarcely entered the French 
 territory. These reiters were a terrible scourge to France, and 
 
 * Memoirs of Caspar dc Coligny (Edin. 1844), p. 11G.
 
 282 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 it was necessary to get rid of them at any sacrifice. Davila 
 paints them as sweeping through the country like a frightful 
 hurricane (spaventosa tempesta). Armed to the teeth in black 
 mail, drawn up in squadrons sixteen deep and with a front of 
 thirty, they rode down the weak lines of the French cavalry. 
 Fierce in demeanor, brutal in habits, as intractable as they 
 were insolent, and a nuisance alike to friend and foe, they were 
 insatiable pillagers, and their long train of wagons filled with 
 plunder often caused irremediable delay in the march of the 
 Huguenot army. None knew how to drive a hard bargain 
 better than they did. Castelnau gives a curious account of 
 his negotiations with these men, who, in the true spirit of 
 mercenary soldiers, were ready to turn their arms against any 
 body, if they were paid for it. The only means of raising 
 money to meet the various claims upon the treasury Avas to 
 sell church property, which was done to the amount of 
 100,000 crowns rental. Although the pope had given his con- 
 sent to this alienation, provided the money was employed to 
 extirpate heresy, the Parliament of Paris long refused to regis- 
 ter the decree authorizing the sale, on the factious ground that 
 " things consecrated to God could not be touched."
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 283 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE THIRD CIVIL WAR 
 
 [156S-1570.] 
 
 State of the Country The National Party Atrocities and Retaliation 
 L'Hopital's Retirement The Catholic League League of Toulouse 
 The New Plot The Flight to Rbchelle Aid from England Anjou, 
 Commander-in-Chief Battle of Jarnac Death of Conde Henry of 
 Beam Siege of Cognac Junction of Duke Wolfgang Death of Brissac 
 Battle of Roche-Abeille Siege of Poitiers Moncontour The Admi- 
 ral's letter to liis Children Siege of St. Jean D'Angely Desmarais The 
 Great March Cruelties at Orthez, Auxerre, Orleans, Cognat, Aurillac 
 Culigny's illness Battle of Arnay le Due Treaty of St. Germains. 
 
 SHORT as the war: had been it was full of horrors. Wher- 
 ever the two armies passed the country was laid waste. The 
 towns-people were comparatively safe behind their walls, but 
 the peasantry wer-e between two millstones : there was no es- 
 caping except by flight to the woods and leaving the fields un- 
 cultivated, the consequence of which was famine and pesti- 
 lence. In Schiller's picturesque language,"" men became sav- 
 age like their countries." * After the proclamation of peace a 
 few governors did all they could to check the disorders of the 
 royal troops in their provinces. Marshal Damville, command- 
 ing in Guienne, Poitou, and Dauphiny, issued many regulations 
 to pacify the country and restrain the license of the soldiery, 
 who had assumed the administrations of several towns by 
 turning out the magistrates and substituting drum-head jus- 
 tice for the regular courts of law. They appropriated the 
 contents of the city chests, and the only limits to their extor- 
 tions were the means of the citizens to pay. Many large 
 
 * Die Menschen verwildcrten mit den Landern.
 
 284: MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 towns had been half deserted by their inhabitants, who in 
 despair had formed into volunteer partisan corps, which roamed 
 over the country, making the roads unsafe, and plundering 
 friend and foe alike. They were under a rude kind of military 
 discipline, resembling in this as in other respects the brigand 
 bands of modern Greece and Southern Italy. To remedy this 
 great evil, Damville ordered the officers and soldiers to permit 
 the exiles to return on condition that they gave up their arms, 
 gentlemen and others having the privilege of wearing sw r ords 
 being excepted. Charles himself frequently complained that 
 the provincial governors did not attempt to carry out the 
 treaty of Longjumeau. On the 31st March he wrote to Con- 
 de regretting that the edict of toleration had not been ob- 
 served as fully as he had desired, and declared it to be his 
 wish that all his subjects, without respect of religion, should 
 be protected alike. He grieved that justice was not so purely 
 administered as it ought to be a state of things he would 
 remedy as far as possible. 
 
 If it should be urged that these are mere words, which 
 cost the writer nothing, the same objection can hardly be 
 made to the king's letter to D'Humieres of the 30th April, 
 wherein he directed that those who had left their homes dur- 
 ing the late troubles should not be hindered from returning 
 and living in liberty according to the edict. There are also 
 other letters extant proving the reality of this conciliatory 
 feeling. Thus on 9th May, 1568, Charles wrote to the 
 mayor of Tours, ordering the place of Reformed worship to 
 be removed as far as possible from Tours, but to that extent 
 sanctioning it.* There are several letters on the same sub- 
 ject from others, and in a considerate tone ; but the most 
 remarkable of all is one to the mayor from Francis of Bour- 
 bon, Duke of Montpensier, dated 15th June, 1568, and refer- 
 ring to the police arrangements in Tours for the approaching 
 
 * Archives of Tours. Luzarche (Victor) : Lettres historiques, p. 81 (Tours, 
 18G1).
 
 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 285 
 
 Fvte Dieu : " Nevertheless, if you know that they are likely 
 to be obstinate and refuse to obey, only so far as concerns 
 the decorations of the streets and houses, and that it may 
 cause offense and disturbance, there will be no harm in your 
 tacitly making good their deficiencies, according to your 
 means, without showing that one is more favored than an- 
 other, with the assurance that you will be able to arrange 
 matters so wisely that every thing may turn out to the hon- 
 or and glory of God." * 
 
 However unfavorable the treaty of Longjumeau may have 
 been to the Huguenots, there can be no doubt of their de- 
 sire to live in peace. They had won toleration at the point 
 of the sword ; by aiming at supremacy they would risk all 
 they had gained. War could advantage them but little : in 
 peace they might hope to extend the silent conquests of their 
 religion. It is very questionable, however, if the great body 
 of the Catholics, or their leaders, were equally desirous 
 of a permanent cessation of hostilities. Peace might be fatal 
 to the ambitious designs of the house of Lorraine ; Conde 
 and the admiral were formidable rivals to the cardinal and 
 the Italian followers of the queen-mother. The treaty was 
 the work of the moderate section of the royal council, to 
 which Marshal Montmorency had given the influence of his 
 name. It was drawn up by the Chancellor L'Hopital, an- 
 other member of the same party, and supported by the bish- 
 ops of Orleans and Limoges.f Their task had not been with- 
 out difficulty, for the mere rumor of peace had called forth 
 strong protests from the papal and Spanish embassadors, who 
 almost threatened war if any arrangement were come to with 
 the heretics ; but the king is reported to have made a reply 
 that quite startled them.J This is just what we should ex- 
 
 * Archives of Tours. Luzarche (Victor) : Lettres /tisloriqties, p. 89 (Tours, 
 1861). 
 
 t Languor, i. 58. 
 
 J " Reclamarunt autem quantum potucrnnt legati pontif. Rom. ct rep. 
 Ilisp. irnmo aiunt cos Regi minitatos essc bellum, si haereticis pacem con- 
 cederet, scd liegcm ita rcspondisse ut cos tcrrucrit." Languct, i. 62.
 
 286 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 pect from Catherine, Avhose object all her life was to keep 
 the Spaniard out of France. The Huguenots were the truly 
 national party the stout defenders of national independence. 
 They were the first to assert the doctrine of non-intervention, 
 although they did not act up to their theory. This was the 
 link which connected them with the moderate section of the 
 Catholic party. While their antagonists esteemed Guise 
 and Philip II. and the pope far more than they did their king, 
 the Huguenots Avcre especially Frenchmen. They were loyal 
 in the best sense of the word, as were the English Catholics, 
 who, under a popish admiral, drove the Armada from the 
 seas. 
 
 But the " politicians," as they are usually called, were in 
 advance of their age: the time for moderation had not yet 
 come. The Cardinal of Lorraine still raised his voice for 
 extermination, and the pride of both Catherine and Charles 
 had been deeply wounded by the undignified flight from 
 Meaux. Philip II., who dreaded to see France at peace, 
 continued to intrigue with the most bigoted of the king's 
 advisers. Alva, too, reminded the queen-mother that it was 
 " much better to have a kingdom ruined in preserving it for 
 God and the king by war, than to have it kept entire with- 
 out war, to the profit of the devil and his heretical follow- 
 ers." * In addition to all this, the peace had made Catherine 
 unpopular even among those of her own religion ; both she 
 aad the king were most absurdly suspected of heresy, and, 
 adds Claude Haton, " it is certain that they were the sup- 
 port and prop of the rebel Huguenots." Speaking of the Lent 
 Sermons in this year (1568) he says, that "the clergy from 
 the pulpits taxed the king, his mother, and the council, with 
 being by the said peace the ' cause of the entire ruin of the 
 kingdom and of the Catholic religion." This language was 
 reported to their majesties, who immediately ordered the 
 clergy to preach the Gospel, and not abuse their sovereign, 
 
 * Gaclmrd : Corresp. de Pldlippe II., vol. i. p. GOO (4to. Bruxellc.", 1848).
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 287 
 
 under pain of the severest punishment. But if the preachers 
 moderated their tone toward the king and the queen-moth- 
 er, they became more violent in their attacks upon the Hu- 
 guenots. From every pulpit fanatical monks hounded on 
 their already too eager listeners to farther deeds of blood, 
 not only by proclaiming that faith ought not to be kept with 
 heretics, but that it was a meritorious act to slay them. 
 The system of forced baptisms was continued, the rights of 
 the individual being as little regarded under Charles IX. in 
 1568 as under Louis XIV. at the close of the following cen- 
 tury. At Provins, a babe six weeks old was carried to the 
 church and christened, the mother being taken thither in the 
 custody of the police, and the father left in the- hands of the 
 soldiers until the ceremony was over. In the municipal 
 archives of Tallard we read : " Paid six sols to a royal 
 sergeant sent by the deputy bailiff of Gap to publish an 
 order that the children who had been baptized in the new 
 religion should be rebaptized in the Catholic religion." * At 
 Dieppe, the midwives were required to make a declaration 
 within two hours of the birth of every Huguenot infant, who 
 was taken away and christened publicly. 
 
 The petty annoyances and vexations to which the Reformed 
 were subjected, were at times harder to bear than actual 
 persecution. In tfie one case pride and conscience might 
 make the severest torture endurable ; in the other, there 
 was all the consciousness of the martyr without a sufficient 
 injury to awaken the sympathy of others. The annoyances 
 inflicted by the municipal authority on the Huguenots of 
 Provins must have been to many more intolerable than any 
 amount of physical pain. They were forbidden to take 
 lodgers, to assemble in any manner, or to leave their houses 
 after 7 P.M. in the summer and 5 P.M. in the winter. They 
 were not allowed to walk on the ramparts by night or by day, 
 
 * Archives of Provins : Registrcs de Baptemc. CImrronnet : Gnerres <le 
 Reliyion, p. 60. Comptes consulaircs do Gap, 1569.
 
 288 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 under pain of death ; and they could not take a stroll into 
 the country without the written pass of the officer of the 
 gate.* At Amiens the privilege of keeping inns was taken 
 from them ; they were turned, out of such of their houses as 
 happened to be near the walls or the gates ; they could not 
 meet more than three together, and were liable to be hanged 
 if found in the streets between seven at night and six in the 
 morning.f 
 
 During this " peace which was no peace," as La Noue 
 says, more than 2000 Huguenots. surely an exaggerated 
 number were put to death at Amiens, Bourges, Rouen, 
 and other places. The teaching of the clergy had produced 
 the desired effect. Under the pretext of imaginary crimes, 
 Sigognes, governor of Dieppe, arrested all whom he suspect- 
 ed, or drove them out of the town. The soldiers insulted 
 the women as they went to their meetings ; the men inter- 
 fered to protect them ; there was a riot, and the governor 
 always sided with the ruffians. Open w r ar seemed better 
 than such insecurity. M. de Cypierre was murdered, with 
 thirty-six of his companions and suite, as he was passing 
 through Provence. Remonstrances and appeals for justice 
 were vainly made to the government, which affected to be 
 more powerless than it really was. Under these circumstances, 
 it is no wonder that the Huguenots again took up those 
 arms in self-defense which they had laid aside in accordance 
 Avith the treaty ; no wonder that in their fury they once 
 more defiled the altars, destroyed the churches, and perpe- 
 trated a thousand retaliatory atrocities. Briquemaut, one of 
 their leaders, cheered them on to murder, wearing a string 
 of priests' ears round his neck. On the other side, Louis de 
 Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier, far surpassed all others in 
 barbarity, even to the disgust of Charles himself, who was 
 not over-nice in such matters. One punishment, which he 
 was proud of inventing, is so foul and horrible that wo dare 
 
 * Claude Ilaton, p. 534. f Thierry : Tiers-titat, ii. 720.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 289 
 
 not name it. Correro, tho Venetian embassador, describes 
 the whole population as in a state of fury. 
 
 Pope Pius V. actively supported the fanatical party *in 
 their opposition to the treaty of 1568, by letters of advice 
 and pecuniary aid. On the 5th of July he wrote to the Duke 
 of Nemours, congratulating him on being the first who, in 
 the cities of Lyons and Grenoble, refused to observe the con- 
 ditions of Longjumeau, " as fatal to the Catholic religion and 
 derogatory to the king's dignity." "Would to God," he 
 continues, " that all the great ones of the kingdom and all 
 governors of provinces would imitate your example." * 
 
 Meanwhile, great changes had taken place in the royal 
 council. By slow degrees the Italian party had recovered 
 their supremacy, and were advocating the most violent 
 measures. The Moderate party was listened to with impa- 
 tience. " Even the king no longer dared give his opinion," 
 says L'Hopital, who felt it a duty to resign his office rather 
 than countenance measures of which he disapproved. He 
 was succeeded for a brief interval by Jean de Morvilliers. 
 
 In the middle of 1568 the foundations were laid of that 
 formidable League which shook the throne and brought 
 France to the brink of destruction. On the 25th June, "The 
 Associates of the Christian and Royal League of the province 
 of Champagne " met and took a solemn oath " to maintain 
 the Catholic Church in France, and preserve the crown in the 
 house of Valois, so long as it shall govern according to the 
 Catholic and Apostolic religion." f Seventy years later anoth- 
 er famous league was signed " for the defense of religion," 
 which brought a king to the scaffold. Those who admire 
 the Scottish Covenant should not find fault with a Romish 
 
 * Lader dill Ann. J-'ccles. xxiii. 125, in Sismondi, xix. p. 21. 
 
 t Journal de Lesloile. The Orange Societies were originally bound by a 
 similar oath to "pay allegiance to the king and his successors so long as 
 they support the Protestant ascendancy." The loynl Catholics threatened 
 to shut up Charles in a convent, and put another in his place, if he tried to 
 protect the Huguenots. De Thon, v. p. 516. 
 
 T
 
 290 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 league which brought two kings of France to a sudden and 
 bloody end. 
 
 ^.t Toulouse a somewhat similar league had been formed, 
 and a proclamation issued against the followers of the new 
 religion. In that singular document, which was founded on 
 a bull issued by Pius V. in March, 1568, the Protestants are 
 described as " atheists, men living without God, without 
 faith, and without law." Jesus Christ himself inspires all 
 good Catholics with " the idea of assuming the cross, taking 
 up arms, and preparing a war like Mattathias and the other 
 Maccabees." The faithful are reminded of the heretical 
 Albigenses destroyed in that very district to the number of 
 60,000; and are exhorted to pursue with the same fervor 
 these " new enemies of God," and to show them no mercy. 
 If the crusaders die in the expedition, " their blood will serve 
 them as a second baptism, washing out all their sins ; and 
 they will go with the other martyrs straight to paradise." 
 The qualifications for taking up the cross in this holy war 
 were " to confess their sins and arm themselves with the 
 body and blood of our Lord ;" but these arms were not 
 thought sufficient. " If the capitouls [magistrates] will lend 
 a few cannons, things will go on all the better. Resolved at 
 Toulouse, 21st September, 1568. The above is done under the 
 authority of our Holy Father the Pope." Priests were to be 
 the captains of this "holy army of faith," and its motto was: 
 Eamus nos / moriamur cum Christo.* 
 
 Immediately after the signing of the treaty of Longju- 
 meau the Protestant army had been disbanded, and the 
 reiters in their pay had returned to Germany, not without ex- 
 cesses on the road; but under various excuses the royal 
 army, including the Swiss mercenaries and the Italian auxil- 
 iaries, was still kept on foot. The motive soon became ap- 
 parent: the reactionary party meditated a bold stroke that 
 should cripple, if not entirely crush, the Huguenot party. 
 
 * Doni Vaisscttc : Hist. Lanyuedoc, tome v. p. 216, note.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 291 
 
 Conde, the admiral and other chiefs were to be seized, 
 and of the fate intended for some of them there can be no 
 doubt. Only two months earlier, Alva's " blood council " 
 had condemned Counts Egmont and Horn to a violent death. 
 As early as May, all the bridges along the Loire were guarded. 
 This may have been a mere matter of police in the disturbed 
 state of the country ; but the Huguenots very reasonably 
 considered it as a means of controlling their movements and 
 preventing their escape, if danger threatened them. Their 
 leaders were widely separated; Andelot was in Brittany, La 
 Rochefoucault in Angouleme, D'Acier in Languedoc, Bruni- 
 quet and Montglas in Gascony, Genlis and Mouy in Picardy, 
 Montgomery in Normandy, the Admiral at Tanlay, and 
 Conde at his castle of Noyers in Burgundy. These two 
 places are so near that tradition speaks of a subterranean 
 passage between them. Tanlay is placed in a secluded spot 
 between Tonnerre and Montbard. On a splendid chimney- 
 piece in the large hall may still be seen a head of Coligny in 
 a plumed helmet, admirably carved in delicately tinted mar- 
 ble.* 
 
 The admiral had gone to this charming retreat, to consult 
 with his brother to whom it belonged, and who had joined him 
 there. The aspect of affairs was threatening. The news 
 which they had received from their friends at court, as well as 
 the frequent movements of troops to the Loire, were enough to 
 fill them with suspicion. Attended by fifty horsemen, they rode 
 over to Noyers, and while there an intercepted dispatch from 
 Tavannes, the governor of the province, bade them in ambigu- 
 ous but significant language look to their safety : "Le cerf cst 
 aux toiles, la chasse est preparee." With all secrecy the 
 Huguenot leaders prepared for flight, and though encumbered 
 by women and children, succeeded in escaping to Rochelle 
 (August, 1568). A ford near Sancerre had been left un- 
 
 * On the vaulted ceiling of the Tour de la Ligue is a striking fresco repre- 
 senting Conde as Mars, Birague as Vulcan, Catherine as Juno, Margaret 
 of Valois as a Muse, with other well-known historic characters.
 
 292 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 guarded, and by it the fugitives were able to cross the Loire, 
 and were protected from pursuit by a sudden rise of the 
 waters.? 5 "It touched the hearts of all men with sincere 
 commiseration," says Matthieu, " to witness the lamentable 
 plight in which the first prince of the blood traveled. The 
 heat of the weather was intense ; the princess, being great 
 Avith child, traveled in a litter ; the prince had three little 
 children in the cradle ; besides which he was accompanied by 
 the admiral and his family, by Andelot and his wife, there 
 being altogether a great number of children and nurses. 
 Their escort consisted of only 150 men." 
 
 The enemy followed them so closely as to come in sight of 
 the fugitives, but the swollen river lay between them. The 
 Cardinal of Chatillon, at that time living quietly in his episco- 
 pal palace at Beauvais, received timely warning and escaped 
 to England. Joan of Albret, Queen of Navarre, who was 
 threatened in her own estates, also sought a refuge within 
 those walls which already sheltered the Prince of Conde. 
 She brought her son Henry with her, then a boy of 15, and a 
 force of 4000 men, the nucleus of an army that soon swelled 
 to more formidable dimensions than that which had been dis- 
 banded a few months before. The command was offered to 
 Henry, but graciously refused by him in favor of his uncle 
 Conde. 
 
 The position of the Huguenot chiefs was full of peril ; but 
 they saw clearly that they were standing in the breach of 
 Protestantism, and fighting not merely their own battle but the 
 battle of the Reformed religion in every country. In Flan- 
 ders Alva was not only trampling out Protestantism with 
 
 * Of this passage, Jean de la Haize, orator of La Rochelle, said : " La 
 faveur du ciel s'etant de'claree si miraculeusement pour votre conservation, 
 que la delivrance des cnfans d'Israel par la Mer Eouge n'cst point plus ad- 
 mirable et extraordinaire." Second Discours bref, in Arcere, i. p. 3G9, 
 note. Villegotnblain ^Mem. i. p. 16), says they crossed " near Les Rosiers," 
 four leagues below Sauraur, which must be a mistake. A spot just above 
 Cosne was pointed out to me by a lineal descendant of one of the sharers of 
 this flight. .
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 293 
 
 his iron heel, but usurping the rights of the Prince of Orange. 
 This was a matter that touched Conde nearly, for he too was 
 thought worthy of the hatred of " the Demon of the South." 
 All the nobility indeed were, more or less, affected by any at- 
 tack on the rights of the princes of the blood; but the majori- 
 ty willfully shut their eyes against it. The meeting at Ba- 
 yonne was bearing fruit. In February, 1568, the Spanish 
 Inquisition solemnly condemned all the inhabitants of the 
 Netherlands to death as heretics a few persons only being 
 excepted by name. Nor was this condemnation a mere idle 
 form, for ten days later Philip II. issued a proclamation, 
 ratifying the sentence and ordering it to be carried into in- 
 stant execution without regard to sex, age, or condition. 
 The eloquent historian of the Dutch republic has told us how 
 the king was obeyed, and unveiled the perfidious designs of 
 the Spanish cabinet. These were strongly suspected by the 
 French Huguenots, who had not the opportunity we possess 
 of reading the secret dispatches of Philip and his ministers. 
 But Conde and Coligny knew quite enough to make them sus- 
 picious : they knew that if the Flemish Protestants were 
 crushed, their turn would come next ; and they not only pre- 
 vented the French government from assisting Alva, but by 
 their attitude made the King of Spain unwilling to send the 
 reinforcements to the Low Countries, which Alva so much 
 needed to complete his crusade. Had they done no more than 
 tins, they would have earned the eternal gratitude of all 
 Protestantism. By paralyzing Alva at this moment the Re- 
 formed religion on the Continent was saved. We may even go 
 farther, and say that our own liberties were dependent on this 
 Huguenot movement. The French leaders had heard that the 
 Protestant Queen of England was threatened, that a bill of 
 excommunication was to be fulminated against her, that a 
 hundred daggers were preparing to be plunged into her 
 heart. Though Elizabeth never cordially helped the Hugue- 
 nots, and with her lofty monarchical notions looked coldly on 
 them and the Flemings as rebels, yet a common enemy and a
 
 294 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 common danger drew them together, and for a time smoothed 
 away all differences. She forwarded to Kochelle six pieces of 
 artillery with their ammunition, and a sum of 100,000 ange- 
 lots (50,000?.) with a promise of more,* and permitted Henry 
 Champernon,f a near kinsman of Sir Walter Raleigh, then 
 only seventeen years old, to raise a troop of 100 gentlemen 
 volunteers, with which he passed over into France. De Thou 
 describes them as " a gallant company, nobly mounted and ac- 
 coutred, having on their colors the motto : Flnem det mihi 
 virtus: Let valor decide the contest." They fought at 
 Jarnac and again at Moncontour, but beyond what Raleigh 
 says himself, there is no trace of them in history. \ 
 
 The fanatical party, not content with drawing the sword, 
 threw away the scabbard. The great want of the court was 
 money, and in July the treaty of Longjumeau had only been 
 signed in March the queen-mother obtained a papal bull, 
 permitting her (as we have seen) to alienate church property 
 to the amount of a million and a half of francs, on condition 
 that the money was employed in the extirpation of Hu- 
 guenotry. It does not appear that any of the money was 
 spent as Pius V. stipulated, and with a view to hide the mis- 
 appropriation and satisfy the urgent demands of the pope, the 
 king issued several edicts in September, 1568, completely an- 
 nulling that of January, forbidding the public celebration of 
 the Reformed worship under pain of death, and ordering the 
 ministers to leave the kingdom within a fortnight. In this 
 revocation of religious privileges it is easy to trace the influ- 
 ence of the more violent members of the privy council the 
 Cardinal of Lorraine and Rene de Biragues. 
 
 Henry of Anjou, a youth only fifteen years old, was once 
 more placed at the head of the royal army, with Tavannes by 
 
 * In the Cotton MSS. (Caligula E, vi. fol. 90) there is an inventory of 
 jewels and trinkets mortgaged to Elizabeth by Joan of Navarre, Conde', and 
 the admiral, 12th June, 1569. 
 
 t Champernon married a daughter of the famous Count of Montgomery. 
 
 J Raleigh's Works, vi. pp. 157-158, 211.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 295 
 
 his side to direct the military operations. Tavannes's object 
 was to confine the Protestants to Poitou and Saintonge, while 
 the Huguenot plan was to march into Burgundy and meet 
 the troops which the Prince of Orange was levying for their 
 support. But the winter of 1568 passed away without any 
 striking event, the Huguenot army losing 5000 men through 
 illness and the inclemency of the season. The cold was so in- 
 tense that the water in a caldron set before the fire was 
 frozen at the back while boiling at the front. All the rivers 
 were cartable, and wine became so solid in the casks that it 
 was cut up and carried away in sacks.* 
 
 As soon as the weather broke, the two armies were once 
 more in the field, and on the 13th March, 1569, came into 
 collision at Jarnac on the banks of the Charente, between An- 
 gouleme and Cognac. There is still the same wide plain, un- 
 der tillage, with a cluster of houses in one corner, that could 
 easily be turned into a barricaded fort. It is near a little hill, 
 at whose foot still flows the sluggish brook on whose banks the 
 chief struggle occurred. The Huguenot force had been inju- 
 diciously divided, while that under Anjou had been reinforced 
 by 2200 reiters commanded by the Rheingrave and Bassom- 
 pierre. It was Anjou's plan to prevent the junction of Con- 
 de' s forces, but he was disappointed in this by the prince's sud- 
 den march to Niort, thence by St. Jean d'Angely to Cognac, 
 and next day to Jarnac, where he met Andelot with the ad- 
 vanced guard of cavalry, supported by four guns. The fol- 
 lowing morning, Conde, accompanied by the admiral and his 
 brother, advanced with all the cavalry to reconnoitre Anjou's 
 position, and had the audacity to offer battle. The king's 
 brother declined the offer and moved away in the direction 
 of Cognac, where he was again met by Conde with the second 
 division, the admiral being left with the first at Jarnac. The 
 
 * Mczeray describes the frost of 1570-71 as lasting three months, during 
 which the fruit-trees, even in Languedoc, were frozen down to their roots. 
 In March, 1572, Smith, the English embassador, writes from Blois, com- 
 plaining of " thirty days' continued frost and snow."
 
 296 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 result of these marchings and counter-marchings was that the 
 Huguenot cavalry was taken by surprise, when the infantry 
 was so far off a$ to be quite unserviceable. Conde stood his 
 ground manfully, but what could 1500 men do against a force 
 twice as strong ? He made desperate efforts to cut his way 
 through the dense ranks of the enemy, though his leg had 
 been broken by a kick from a horse ridden by one of his 
 suite.* At last his horse fell, and he lay at the mercy of his 
 foes. Being recognized by two gentlemen, he called to one of 
 them : " Ho ! D'Argence, my friend, save my life, and I will 
 give you one hundred thousand crowns." D'Argence prom- 
 ised, and raised the prince from the ground. Seeing the 
 Duke of Anjou approach, Conde said : " There is Monseign- 
 eur's troop; I am a dead man." "No, my lord" replied 
 D'Argence ; " cover your face," for he had taken off his hel- 
 met. At this moment up rode Montesquieu, captain of the 
 duke's Swiss guard, who, recognizing the prisoner, foully shot 
 him in the back of the head. " Now I hope you are satisfied," 
 exclaimed the prince, and they were his last words.f It is 
 supposed that orders had been given to spare none of the Hu- 
 guenot leaders. The celebrated La Noue, who was made 
 prisoner in this battle, owed his life to the intervention of the 
 veteran Martigues, " the soldier without fear." The Scotch- 
 man who had murdered the constable at the battle of St. 
 Denis himself met with a similar end, while other prisoners 
 like him were slain in cold blood. A little episode of this un- 
 equal fight shows the sterling stuff of which the Huguenot 
 army was composed. When Conde was thrown from his 
 horse, among those who made a living rampart of their bodies 
 to protect him was an old man, Lavergne de Tressan by name, 
 who, with twenty-five young men, his sons, grandsons, and 
 nephews, fought desperately until he and fifteen of the heroic 
 band were killed. 
 
 * Leicester to Randolph (March 13), blames Conde's "overmuch rash- 
 ness," and says his arm was broken by a shot. Wright's Elizabeth, i. 313. 
 t Champollion-Fige'ac : Documents hist, inedits, iv. p. 486 (4to. Paris, 1848)>
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 297 
 
 Conde's body was treated with the utmost contumely. 
 " We found him," says the biographer of the Duke of Mont- 
 pensier, " lying across an ass, and the Baron de Magnac asked 
 me if I should know him again? But as he had one eye 
 beaten out of his head, and was otherwise much disfigured, I 
 knew not what to answer. The corpse was brought in be- 
 fore all the princes and lords, who ordered the face to be 
 washed, and recognized him perfectly. They then put him 
 into a sheet, and he was carried before a man on horseback 
 to the castle of Jarnac, where the king's brother went to 
 lodge." Thence the remains of the ill-fated prince were re- 
 moved to the church, and afterward given up to his friends. 
 La Noue, who knew Conde well, thus writes his epitaph : " In 
 boldness or courtesy no man of his time excelled him. Of 
 speech he was eloquent, rather by nature than by art. He 
 was liberal and affable unto all men, and withal an excellent 
 captain, although he loved peace. He bare himself better in 
 adversity than in prosperity." In 1818, a monument was 
 raised to his memory on the field of Jarnac, with the inscrip- 
 tion: 
 
 me 
 
 NLTANDA NECE OCCCBUIT 
 ANNO M D L X I X XI A. IIS XXXIX 
 
 LUDOVICUS BOKBONIUS CONDUITS, 
 
 QUI IN OMNIBUS BELLI PACISQCE ARTIBCS 
 
 NULLI SECUNDUS J 
 
 VIRTCTE, INGENIO, 8OLERTIA 
 
 NATALICM SPLENDOREM AQUAVIT J 
 
 VIR MELIORI EXITU UIGN0S. 
 
 Great was the exultation at court when the news of this 
 brilliant success arrived,* and the nominal conqueror, Henry 
 of Anjou, was extolled in language that would have been ex- 
 travagant if applied to a Marlborough or Napoleon. He 
 fought well, and had a horse killed under him ; but Charles 
 
 * When Charles heard the news of Conde's death " surgit e lecto, properat 
 nd summam aerlem, nlta vocc depromtt canticum Te Deitm, jubet campanas 
 omncs golennitcr pulsari."
 
 298 MASSACRE OF ST. BAKTHOLOMEW. 
 
 was not far wrong when he asked whether Tavannes and 
 Biron were not the real heroes of the day? A solemn Te 
 Deum was chanted for the victory at Jarnac, and the captured 
 standards, twelve in number, were sent to Rome as a present 
 to the pope. Pius V., who in earlier days had exercised the 
 office of inquisitor-general in Lombardy with fanatical severity, 
 wrote to congratulate the king on the victory, bidding him 
 " be deaf to every prayer, to trample upon every tie of blood 
 and affection, and to extirpate heresy down to its smallest 
 fibres (etiam radicum fibras funditus evellere)." He pointed 
 to the example of Saul slaying the Amaiekites, and condemned 
 every feeling of clemency as a temptation of Satan.* This 
 was the same pope who, having sent military aid to the French 
 Catholics, blamed their commander "for not obeying his 
 orders to slay instantly every heretic that fell into his 
 hands :"f and yet he would complain with all sincerity that 
 " but for the support of prayer, the cares of the papacy would 
 be more than he could endure." Contemporary writers tell 
 us that " he performed his religious duties most devoutly, fre- 
 quently with tears ;" and always rose from his knees with the 
 conviction that his prayers had been heard. Such are the con- 
 tradictions in the human heart ! 
 
 When the news of the victory reached Provins, there was 
 
 * One of the medals struck nt Rome to commemorate this victory repre- 
 sents the pope and cardinals kneeling and receiving from heaven an answer 
 to their prayers : the inscription is from the Te Deum : " Fecit potentiam in 
 brachio suo ; dispersit superbos." Bonanni : Numism. Pontif. Rain. No. 14 
 (2 vols. fol. Rom, 1699). 
 
 t Catena, Vita di Pio V. p. 85. He wrote to Catherine to fight the ene- 
 mies of God "ad internecionem usque ;" and to Anjou to show himself "o//i- 
 nibus incxorabilem." He describes Coligny as " exsecrcmdum ilium ac detest- 
 abilem hominem, si modo homo appellandus est." See also No. xi. to Charles 
 (Gth March, 1569), in Potter's Lettres de Pio V. (8vo. Paris, 1826), where 
 " punire hsereticos eorumque duces omni severitate" will hardly support the 
 writer in the Dublin Review (October, 1865), who contends that the Church 
 exulted over the St. Bartholomew massacre, not because the victims were 
 heretics, but because they were rebels. In the prayer ordered by Clement 
 IX. to be read on 1st May, Pius V. is described as elect "ad conterendos 
 ecclesiaj hostes."
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 299 
 
 the usual holiday: the shops were closed, the houses decorated, 
 and a general procession of clergy and laity, bearing relics and 
 bannei*s, marched through the crowded streets to the Jacobin's 
 convent to hear the Lent preacher. He was an apt pupil of 
 the foul-mouthed Father Ivole. "With thundering voice, and 
 animated gestures, he declared the prince's death to be a 
 divine judgment, and described him as "the chief of robbers, 
 murderers, thieves, rebels, Huguenots, and heretics in France ; 
 a prince degenerated from the virtues and religion of his an- 
 cestors, a man foresworn, guilty of treason against God and 
 the king, a profaner of temples, a breaker of images, a de- 
 stroyer of altars, a contemner of the sacraments, a disturber of 
 the peace, a betrayer of his country, and a renegade French- 
 man," with many other flowers of monkish rhetoric, which -the 
 chronicler Haton forbears to quote. 
 
 Although the loss of the Prince of Conde was, considering 
 his rank and influence, a great blow to the French Protestants, 
 they comforted themselves by the thought that it was " rather 
 an advancement than a hindrance to their affairs," as Sir Wal- 
 ter Raleigh said, in consequence of his " over-confidence in his 
 own courage." Coligny naturally succeeded to the command 
 of the Huguenot forces, which soon recovered from the disas- 
 ter at Jarnac. While they were rallying and reorganizing at 
 Niort, Joan of Albret suddenly appeared in their camp, bring- 
 ing with her two youths of fifteen. One of them was her 
 nephew Henry, son of the murdered prince ; the other her own 
 son, Henry of Beam, destined after many struggles to become 
 Henry IV. of France. Addressing the assembled captains in 
 a tone well calculated to raise their drooping spirits, she said : 
 " I offer you my son, who burns with a holy ardor to avenge 
 the death of the prince we all regret. Behold also Conde's 
 son, now become iny own child. He succeeds to his father's 
 name and glory. Heaven grant that they may both show 
 themselves worthy of their ancestors !" 
 
 The Huguenot troops hailed the young Prince of Beam 
 with acclamations as their commander-in-chief, and the pro-
 
 300 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 tector of their churches. The gallant boy welcomed the per- 
 ilous commission, and coming forward exclaimed : " Soldiers, 
 your cause is mine. I swear to defend our religion, and to 
 persevere until death or victory* has restored us the liberty 
 for which we fight." In the " Memoirs of Nevers " there are 
 some letters written two years before this by the principal 
 magistrate of Bordeaux, containing several interesting partic- 
 ulars of the young prince's person and manners : " He is a 
 charming youth. At thirteen he has all the riper qualities of 
 eighteen or nineteen. He is agreeable, polite, obliging, and 
 behaves to every one with an air so easy and engaging, that 
 wherever he is, there is always a crowd. He mixes in conver- 
 sation like a wise and prudent man, speaks always to the pur- 
 pose, and when it happens that the court is the subject of 
 discourse, it is easy to see that he is perfectly well acquainted 
 with it, and never says more or less than he ought wherever 
 he may be. I shall all my life hate the new religion for hav- 
 ing robbed us of so worthy a subject. . . . His hair is a little 
 red, yet the ladies think him not less agreeable on that ac- 
 count. His face is finely shaped, his nose neither too large 
 nor too small, his eyes full of sweetness, his skin brown but 
 clear, and his whole countenance animated with an uncommon 
 vivacity."f 
 
 The Huguenot loss at Jarnac was not great numerically 
 400 men at the utmost ; and the various scattered corps were 
 so soon brought together, and presented so bold a front to 
 the enemy, that Anjou did not care to risk his newly-acquired 
 laurels in a second encounter. He appeared to have lost all en- 
 ergy. Tavannes proposed the laying waste of Poitou, " the 
 Huguenot milch cow ;" but, instead of following his advice, 
 
 * " Death or Victory " had been Henry's motto in certain court masques, 
 until Catherine, whose curiosity was piqued by the three Greek initials he 
 used, ordered him to discontinue them. 
 
 t Some years ago there was in the cabinet of Alfred de Vigny, the author 
 of Cinq Afars, a portrait, by an unknown painter, of Prince Henry, when 
 not more than three years old. It was full of character and life.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 301 
 
 the young duke seems to have thought that the best means 
 of terminating the war would be to capture Rochelle, the real 
 base of Huguenot operations. And probably victory would 
 have crowned his plans, had he moved rapidly on that city, 
 which was hardly in a condition to withstand a coup de main. 
 But the middle course which he adopted served no other pur- 
 pose than to strengthen his enemies. While he was besieging 
 Cognac, Duke Wolfgang of Deux Fonts, with an auxiliary 
 force of 14,000, succeeded in marching across France, and 
 effecting a junction with the admiral, despite the efforts of 
 Xemours and Aumale to stop him. On other points the royal 
 forces had been equally unsuccessful. Anjou was forced to 
 raise the siege of Cognac, stoutly defended by D'Acier with 
 1500 men, and lost one of his best officers, Cosse-Brissac, be- 
 fore the walls of a petty fortress in Perigord. Living or dy- 
 ing, Brissac, although rather a favorite of the queen-mother's, 
 had but little influence on the course of events ; but if not nat- 
 urally cruel, he was a striking illustration of the hardness of 
 heart engendered by civil strife. A contemporary, who knew 
 him well, describes him as " quick to slay, and so fond of kill- 
 ing, that he would attack a person with his dagger, and cut 
 him so that the blood spurted in his face." 
 
 More serious were the deaths of Wolfgang and Andelot, 
 both caused by fatigue and anxiety.* The former, who did 
 not live to meet Coligny, was succeeded by the Count of 
 Mansfield ; the latter by Jacques de Crussol, better known as 
 Jacques d'Acier, the chivalrous leader of the southern Hugue- 
 nots. The admiral was deeply afflicted by the loss of his 
 brother, whom he describes as " a most faithful servant of 
 God, and most excellent and renowned captain. No one," he 
 continues in a letter to his own children and to their bereaved 
 cousins, " surpassed him in the profession of arms. ... I 
 have never known a juster or more pious man ; and I pray 
 
 * Sir James Stephen says that Andelot was slain at Moncontour. Lectures, 
 Hist. France, ii. p. 123. He died at Saintce, 27th May ; Moncontour was 
 fought 3d October.
 
 302 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 God that I may quit this life as piously and happily as he 
 did. . . . Temper my grief by showing his virtues living 
 again in yourselves." 
 
 Coligny, strengthened by the arrival of the German mer- 
 cenaries and of reinforcements from Languedoc, now marched 
 out to meet the royal army, still superior in numbers but 
 weakened by disease and divided authority. They came in 
 sight of each other at Roche-Abeille : 25,000 men marched 
 under the Huguenot banners ; Anjou's force had been in- 
 creased to 30,000 by auxiliaries from every quarter. The 
 pope had sent a body of 4000 foot and 800 horse under the 
 Count of Santa Fiore, one of the most experienced captains 
 of the age. The Duke of Tuscany sent 2200 men ; and Alva 
 spared from Flanders 300 lances and a regiment of Walloons 
 3000 strong. The country round Roche-Abeille is woody 
 and irregular, and the royal army was posted on the top of a 
 rugged hill, at whose foot ran a small stream. A marsh, 
 crossed by a narrow road, protected the Huguenot position. 
 The king's troops, having the city of Limoges in their rear, 
 were well supplied with provisions ; while Coligny found it 
 difficult to feed his army in the mountains and barren 
 country behind him. Should he starve, retreat, or fight? 
 The only safety lay in fighting, for the Germans had already 
 begun to murmur. At day-break the Huguenots were under 
 arms, and with six cannons, two companies of horse, and two 
 brigades of infantry, prepared to attack Anjou's position. 
 Strozzi, the new colonel-general of the French infantry, had 
 thrown up some rude breastworks round his camp with an 
 advanced battery for his artillery, which swept the marsh 
 over which the enemy would have to pass. The gallant De 
 Piles, who led the attack, was at first repulsed, and severely 
 harassed by four ensigns of Italian horse, who came down 
 the hill while he was engaged in trying to extricate his guns 
 which had stuck fast in the ground. Disengaging himself 
 from the marsh, he renewed the attack, and having driven 
 off the Italian horse, Coligny ordered Anjou's position to be
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 303 
 
 assaulted in flank, while a fierce cannonade was directed 
 against the advanced battery. An opening was soon made 
 in the enemy's line, through which the Huguenot cavalry 
 poured like a torrent, and the day was won, Strozzi being 
 made prisoner (23d June, 1569). Six hundred of the royal 
 army, including thirty officers, were left upon the field, the 
 Huguenots showing no mercy to the Italian troops, " the 
 soldiers of Antichrist," as they were called. The result 
 would have been still more fatal had it not been for the skill 
 displayed by Tavannes in remedying Anjou's mistakes. But, 
 notwithstanding his success, Coligny was compelled to retire 
 to a more convenient position, and not long after the king's 
 army was broken Tip, the weather being too hot for field 
 operations. Davila mentions that this resolution was agreed 
 to by a council at which Catherine was present and advised 
 moderation. " It is not usual," she said, " to cut off a dis- 
 eased limb, except in extreme necessity." 
 
 Coligny had taken advantage of his success at Roche- 
 Abeille to make overtures for peace. He wrote to the king 
 that the Huguenots " desired nothing but to live in peace, 
 pursue their avocations in quiet, and enjoy their property in 
 security ;" and that, in religious matters, they asked for tolera- 
 tion only until the assembling of a national council. The 
 letter was sent through Montmorency, who was instruct- 
 ed to answer that " the king would hear nothing until the 
 Huguenots had returned to their obedience." The admiral 
 saw clearly that to lay down their arms without conditions 
 would be to expose themselves to certain destruction ; he 
 therefore replied to the marshal's letter, that " having done 
 their part to avert the dangers which threaten ruin to the 
 state, they must now more than ever seek their own remedies." 
 Accordingly he resumed hostilities, his plan being to clear 
 Poitou of the Royalist forces. Overruled by his officers, he 
 consented to begin by attacking Poitiers, thus repeating the 
 blunder which Anjou had committed before Cognac. The 
 admiral not only failed after a two months' siege, but his
 
 304 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 forebodings as to the damage to las own army were more 
 than realized. With a force weakened by the loss of 3000 
 men and disunited by the quarrels of the German auxiliaries, 
 he once more encountered Anjou's army in the wide and tree- 
 less plain of Assay near Moncontour. The duke, who had 
 been reinforced, was on his way to Loudun, hoping to cut off 
 the Huguenot magazines, when Coligny, divining his plans, 
 pushed forward to the plain of St. Clair, to the left of the 
 villacre of La Chaussee, on the road from Loudun to Poitiers, 
 
 O ' ' 
 
 where he drew up in order of battle ; but as no enemy ap- 
 peared, he retired toward Moncontour, whither he had sent 
 his guns and baggage. Before this movement was completed, 
 the Duke of Montpensier suddenly appeared and fell on the 
 rear-guard, driving it in confusion before him. Coligny con- 
 tinued his march, supposing the whole of the royal army to 
 be behind him; but when he discovered that it was only 
 Montpensier's division, he turned and drove it back, captur- 
 ing two flags. This gave him the opportunity of crossing the 
 Dive in safety, over which little stream the enemy made a vain 
 attempt to pursue hyn. As soorr as it was night he contin- 
 ued his march, and reached Moncontour on the 2d October, 
 where a council of Avar was held, at which Coligny proposed 
 a farther retreat to Airvault, but the majority decided for 
 immediate battle. The Germans now declared they would 
 not lift a lance until they were paid, and with some difficulty 
 the money was found; but so much pi-ecious time had been 
 lost, that the admiral was unable to select an advantageous 
 position to compensate for his inferiority in number. 
 
 From eight in the morning until three in the afternoon (3d 
 October, 1569), the two armies kept up a fierce cannonade 
 upon each other, two of Anjou's batteries on a hill causing 
 great damage, and finally compelling some Huguenot regi- 
 ments to shift their ground. Anjou observing this, ordered 
 a forward movement, with the right wing strengthened so as to 
 turn the enemy's left. At the first shock both wings gave way. 
 Coligny rallied them, and by a vigorous onset beat back Anjou's
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 305 
 
 * 
 
 first line. The duke immediately brought up his second 
 line, and the Huguenot centre began to waver, when An jou's 
 German calvary rode down upon them like a hurricane, and 
 in half an hour all was over. The Huguenots went into bat- 
 tle 18,000 strong, and before night it was a difficult matter to 
 collect 1000 men to cover the retreat of the two princes to 
 Parthenay. There was little mercy shown by the conquer- 
 ors.* A brigade of German lansquenets laid down their 
 arms and begged for quarter, which was refused, with shouts 
 of " Remember Roche- Abeille." A body of French infantry 
 met with a similar fate. One incident of the battle deserves 
 to be rescued from the dusty oblivion of the old histories. 
 When all was in confusion, the Count of St. Cyr, a veteran 
 soldier of eighty-five, whose snow-white beard flowed down 
 to his waist, contrived to rally three companies of cavalry with 
 which he attempted to cover the retreat. His chaplain, who 
 rode by his side, suggested that he should say a few words to 
 encourage his little troop. " Brave men need few words," he 
 cried ; " do as you see me do." Then setting spurs to his 
 horse, he rode a score or so of yards in front of his men, and 
 fell, struggling to the last against the advancing enemy. 
 Two hundred colors were taken, and " the slaughter was 
 greater than any for these hundred years past."f The num- 
 ber of Huguenots alone who were left upon the field has been 
 estimated at little less than 6000. The retreat was covered 
 by Count Louis of Nassau,}; who by his ability saved the 
 relics of the broken and fugitive army. " I was an eye-wit- 
 ness of it," says Raleigh, who had good reason to thank him 
 for it. 
 
 * D'Acier was ransomed for 10,000 crowns, on hearing of which the pope 
 wrote angrily to Count Santa Fiore, " che non avesse il comandainento di 
 lui osservato d' ammazzar sublto qualunque heretico gli fosse venuto alle mani." 
 Catena : Vita Plo V. 
 
 t Simancas Archives, Bouille', ii. 448. 
 
 J Henry of Nassau had left his studies to join his brothers: "dantem 
 operam literis Argentorati fratres secum abduxerunt." Languet : Epist. 
 Secr.i. 117. 
 
 Raleigh : Hist. World, bk. v. ch. ii. sec. 8, p. 356 (fol. 1G14). 
 
 u
 
 306 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 The position of the admiral was most discouraging : he 
 had lost half his army, his jaw had been fractured by a pistol- 
 shot, he had been declared a traitor, a price of 50,000 livres 
 had been set upon his head, he had been hanged in effigy in 
 Paris, his house had been burned down, and his estates pil- 
 laged,* the wreck of his forces were in mutiny, and many of 
 his friends had forsaken him with reproaches. Yet, in the 
 midst of all these troubles, we find him within a fortnight 
 rising from his sick-bed and writing the following letter to 
 his children. It bears date 16th October, 1569 : " We must 
 not count upon what is called prosperity, or repose our hopes 
 on any of those things in which the world confides, but seek 
 for something better than our eyes can see or our hands can 
 touch. We will follow in the steps of Jesus Christ, our great 
 commander, who has gone before. Men have taken from us 
 all they can, and as such is the good pleasure of God, we will 
 be satisfied and happy. Our consolation is, that we have not 
 provoked these injuries by doing any wrong to those who 
 have injured us ; but that I have drawn upon me their hatred 
 through having been employed by God in the defense of his 
 Church. I will, therefore, add nothing more, except that, in 
 his name, I admonish and conjure you to persevere undaunt- 
 edly in your studies and in the practice of every Christian 
 virtue." 
 
 When the news of the great victory reached the court, the 
 exultation surpassed even that caused by the success at Jar- 
 nac. Anjou was extolled in terms that excited the jealousy 
 of his brother Charles. " Am I to play the sluggard king," 
 he said one day to his mother, " and let the duke be my may- 
 or of the palace ? I will lead my own armies to the field, like 
 my grandfather," Pius V. wrote to congratulate Charles on 
 his victory, and exhorted him not to screen the conquered 
 from the vengeance of heaven, " for there is nothing more 
 
 * Mem. de Perussis in Aubais, p. 106. The furniture and valuables 
 sculptures by Goujon, and pictures by Italian artists filled 80 wagons, and 
 produced 400,000 dollars by public auction in Paris.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 307 
 
 cruel than such mercy. Punish all who have taken up arms 
 against the Almighty." * Philip II. wrote in a somewhat 
 similar strain, but apparently with no effect upon the royal 
 councils. Tavannes once more urged Anjou to act with de- 
 cision ; but once more that frivolous youth lost valuable time 
 in sieges, when he should have been pressing hard upon Co- 
 ligny's scattered and disheartened forces. He was detained 
 for two months before St. Jean d'Angely, a little town of 
 Saintonge, in a valley on the banks of the Boutonne, a tribu- 
 tary of the "gently flowing Charente." It fell at last (2d 
 December, 1569), but at the cost of 4000 men and one of the 
 king's best generals, Viscount Martigues. Charles was pres- 
 ent during the siege, and constantly in the trenches, exposing 
 his life, as if he were a common soldier. He was so fasci- 
 nated with the excitement of war, that he declared he would 
 gladly share the crown with his brother of Anjou, if he might 
 alternately command the forces. 
 
 "Winter was now coming on : the nights were growing cold, 
 and the rains had set in. The pope and the King of Spain 
 had recalled their troops, and Anjou was sick. As there was 
 nothing more to be done until spring, Charles, dismissing a 
 large portion of his army, retired to Angers. This town had 
 been recovered some time before by " that savage butcher," 
 the Duke of Montpensier. The Catholic historian of the city 
 enumerates fifty-two persons who suffered a violent death, ten 
 of them being murdered by the mob. The whole province 
 now submitted, with the exception of a rough old soldier 
 named Desmarais, who held out in the ruined castle of Roche- 
 fort. Here he was besieged in form, and for a time he kept 
 off the enemy by means of frequent sorties. Suffering from 
 want of men, food, and gunpowder, he crossed the hostile 
 lines and reached Saumur, where his friends would have de- 
 tained him, as his defeat was certain. " I promised to go 
 
 * Epist. Pii papa V. Edid. Gouban, Antwp. 1640: "Nihil cst ea mis- 
 ericordia crudelius." Lib. iii. ep. 45, Octob. 20
 
 308 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 back and die with them," he said, and prepared to return with 
 thirty men, who all deserted him through fear. After a bom- 
 bardment, in which every man of the garrison was wounded, 
 a traitor opened the gate and all were murdered, except Des- 
 marais, whose life was promised him. Montpensier, however, 
 declaring that no faith was to be kept with heretics, dragged 
 him to Angers. There his limbs were broken on a cross, aft- 
 
 O ' 
 
 er which he was fastened to a wheel, and for twelve hours the 
 old Puritan fought against death, amid the insults and jeers 
 of a cruel and cowardly mob. 
 
 Immediately after the disaster at Moncontour, the Queen of 
 Navarre, and the chiefs of the Huguenot party had written 
 to their friends in England, Germany, and Switzerland, repre- 
 senting the defeat as far less decisive than it really was, and 
 asking for more help, on the ground that their destruction 
 would be the ruin of all the countries that had embraced the 
 Reformed religion. The position was indeed desperate. 
 Their army had been so cut up that it was alike impossible 
 to make any resistance in the open field, or reorganize it in 
 the presence of the enemy. It was therefore determined to 
 retire from the open country and take shelter behind the walls 
 of Niort, Angouleme, St. Jean d'Angely, and La Rochelle, 
 while Coligny moved southward in quest of recruits, hoping 
 at the same time to draw a portion of the royal army after him, 
 and thus relieve the pressure upon the troops left in garrison 
 behind him. And now began that celebrated march through 
 France, almost unexampled in modern history. His aim was 
 to reach the mountains of Upper Languedoc, where he could 
 Avinter unmolested by the royal army, and recruit his forces. 
 
 Starting from Saintes with 3000 men, chiefly cavalry, and 
 unencumbered with baggage, he crossed the Dordogno, and 
 pushing through Guienne, Rouergue and Quercy, he passed 
 the Lot below Cadenac. Halting for two days at Montauban, 
 he was there joined by Montgomery and 2000 veterans from 
 Beam. This nobleman had been engaged in putting down an 
 insurrection of the Catholics in that province., which he did
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 309 
 
 with savage harshness. Orthez was stormed, and so many of 
 the inhabitants were put to death without distinction of age 
 or sex, that the river Gave was dammed up by the number of 
 bodies thrown into it. The monasteries and nunneries were 
 burned, not one inmate escaping the total slaughter being 
 estimated at 3000. When the citadel was taken, every eccle- 
 siastic who was proved to have borne arms and the proof 
 was none of the strictest was bound hand and foot, and toss- 
 ed over the bridge into the river. From Montauban Coligny 
 marched up the Garonne to Toulouse, where he avenged the 
 cruelties that had been inflicted on Rapin, the bearor of the 
 king's dispatch announcing the peace of 1568. Advancing 
 still nearer to the Mediterranean, he placed his army in win- 
 ter-quarters round Narbonne. 
 
 Let us take advantage of this interval of repose to see what 
 had been doing in other parts of France. A certain Captain 
 Blosset, who held a small castle at Regeane in the diocese of 
 Auxerre, was besieged by the Catholics of the neighborhood 
 and forced to surrender. He contrived to make his escape, but 
 all the garrison were cruelly murdered. One of these, Coeur de 
 Roy by name, was taken to Auxerre, stripped, killed, and cut in 
 pieces. His heart was torn out of his body, and slices of it were 
 offered for sale. Some were such brutes (says the historian) as 
 to set them on the fire and eat them half-roasted. " And these 
 are the pious Christian duties," he adds, " which we are 
 taught by these troubles!" This was in June: in August 
 (1569) the houses in which 200 Huguenots had been shut up 
 at Orleans were set on fire by the mob, who drove back such 
 as endeavored to escape from the flames. " A part of them," 
 says a contemporary, " were seen clasping their hands in the 
 fire and calling upon the name of the Lord." Some jumped 
 out of the windows and were immediately " bludgeoned .'' by 
 the people in the street. Others were shot like game. Some 
 women also were killed, who, heedless of the sacking of their 
 houses, were lamenting the deaths of their husbands, brothers, 
 and others, whom they saw so pitilessly burned. It is pleas-
 
 310 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 anter to read of Marie de Barbancon, a widow lady, who gave 
 an asylum in her castle of Bonegon to the fugitive Protest- 
 ants. The little fortress, which was defended by 50 men 
 only, w r as attacked by a force of 3000 horse and foot provided 
 with artillery. They battered the walls for fifteen days, but 
 the brave woman still held out, and \vould not surrender un- 
 til all of her little garrison were killed or wounded.* Nismes 
 was captured in a singular manner. A Huguenot inhabitant 
 of the city, by the patient labor of fifteen nights, filed away 
 the bar of an iron gate which ran across a brook, and through 
 the opening twenty of the banished citizens re-entered the 
 place and made themselves masters of it in a few minutes. 
 
 At Cognat, near Gannat, the Calvinists of Auvergne, under 
 the command of Poncenac and Valbeleix, gained a pitched 
 battle over the Catholics, in w T hose ranks the Bishop of Le 
 Puy, armed in helmet and cuirass, fought like Orson w r ith a 
 ponderous club. At Dieppe the Huguenots were commanded 
 to leave the town or go to mass, and all refugees were sum- 
 moned to return under pain of having their property confis- 
 cated. Not one obeyed the order. No Catholic was allow- 
 ed to keep a Huguenot servant ; and all resistance was pun- 
 ished by the strappado, or by a penitential progress through 
 the city, which sometimes ended in a flogging in the market- 
 place, more frequently in a hanging. But violence was not 
 confined to one side only. The Protestants of the neighbor- 
 hood of Aurillac surprised that city, which in retaliation for 
 the brutalities committed in 1562 they sacked and destroyed. 
 They buried some Catholics alive up to the chin, and after a 
 series of filthy outrages, used their heads as targets for their 
 muskets.f Four hundred persons were put to death, of whom 
 130 were heads of families. 
 
 Early in the spring the Huguenot army moved northward, 
 and halting at Nismes, which they reached in April, Coligny 
 
 * Hist. France (Le Fere and Piguerre), fol. 1581, p. 1 10, b. 
 fDeThou. v. p. 610.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 311 
 
 laid before them the plan of his new campaign. He proposed 
 marching up the Rhone, and through Burgundy, so as to threat- 
 en Paris on the east, while the royal armies were occupied in 
 the west, and separated from him by rugged mountain ranges. 
 The boldness of the design startled the southern Protestants, 
 who refused to be taken so far from their homes ; but about 
 5000 men agreed to follow him, of whom 3000 were arque- 
 busiers, whom he mounted on horseback.* With this flying 
 camp he advanced to the Rhone, and sending a detachment 
 up the right bank to seek recruits in the Vivarrais and the 
 Cevennes, he crossed with the remainder into Dauphiny, where 
 Gordes was too weak to make effectual resistance. Contin- 
 ual skirmishes, and petty sieges harassed, but did not inter- 
 rupt, Coligny's progress ; but the army suffered such great 
 hardships, that his illness, which compelled them to halt on 
 St. Etienne in Forez, was considered as any thing but a ca- 
 lamity. For some time he lay between life and death, and his 
 soldiers now first learned his value from their fear of losing 
 him. During three weeks the troops remained inactive ; a 
 precious time which they employed in repairing some of the 
 damage they had suffered during their long march, and where 
 they received a most welcome reinforcement of 1500 cavalry 
 under Briquemault. 
 
 Here, too, they were joined by the corps detached to the 
 Vivarrais. They had to make their painful way over rugged 
 crests and along horrible precipices, " the image of a world 
 f ailing into ruin and perishing of old age." f Nothing grows on 
 the stony flanks of these exhausted craters but chestnut-trees, 
 whose coarse fruit was not then ripe.J In the higher passes 
 the snow lay deep, as it frequently does far into summer, and 
 horse and rider often missed the way and were seen no more. 
 Few towns or even villages are to be found even now in these 
 
 * Villegomblain : Me"m. des Troubles, i. 2. r >5 
 t Gilbert de Voisins : Traite de Gtognosie. 
 
 J Weld's Auvergne and Piedmont contains an interesting nnd picturesque 
 description of a portion of this district.
 
 312 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 wild districts, and the peasantry fare hard upon the scanty 
 supply of their flocks of sheep and goats. From gloomy 
 gorges, many of which are aptly named Enfer or J)iable, where 
 black precipitous rocks almost exclude the day, and through 
 which dash impetuous torrents, often dry in summer, and 
 in winter impassable from these gorges the army suddenly 
 emerged into a smiling valley, now the scene of a most thriv- 
 ing industry ! 
 
 As soon as Coligny had recovered his strength, the army was 
 once more put in motion, and in June reached Arnay-le-Duc 
 in Burgundy, after a march of nearly 1200 miles. Here 
 Marshal Cosse attempted to stop him with an army of 12,000 
 foot and 4000 horse with artillery, while the Huguenot force 
 barely exceeded 6000 men, mostly cavalry and no guns, so 
 great had been the losses since they left Poitou the previous 
 autumn. The battle began on the edge of a little brook 
 which the Catholics attempted to cross ; but all their attacks, 
 whether in front or in flank, were unsuccessful. Throughout 
 that long summer day (27th June, 1570), Cosse tried again 
 and again, but every movement was met promptly and resist- 
 ed vigorously. At length night came a welcome relief to the 
 petty band of Huguenots, whose losses, though numerically 
 small, were greater than Coligny could afford. The next day 
 the two armies remained face to face, the marshal being evi- 
 dently afraid of so desperate an enemy. " Here," says Prince 
 Henry, "was my first exploit in arms,* the question being 
 whether I should fight or retire. My nearest place of retreat 
 was forty miles distant, and, if I halted, I must certainly lie at 
 the mercy of the country people. By fighting, I ran the 
 risk of being taken or slain, for I had no cannon, and the 
 king's forces had, and a gentleman was killed not ten paces 
 distant from me by a cannon shot. But commending the suc- 
 cess of the day to God, it pleased him to make it favorable 
 
 * Henry and the Prince of Cpnde had each a regiment at the head of 
 which they made their apprenticeship in arms.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 313 
 
 and happy."* Coligny warmly complimented the young 
 prince on his courage, and gave him some advice which he 
 did not forget in after years : " Do not ask how many have 
 fallen ? They are Frenchmen, and I hope that ere long you 
 and I will have to shed no more French blood in our own de- 
 fense If I have taught you by my firmness to 
 
 triumph over the cruelest obstacles, you have still to learn a 
 more valuable lesson from me to avoid civil war at any price." 
 Arnay le Due is only sixty leagues from Paris, toward 
 which Coligny was advancing with a speed which the defeat- 
 ed and encumbered army of Marshal Cosse could not over- 
 take, even if he were anxious (which is doubtful) to do so. 
 A fresh body of auxiliaries was on its way from Germany to 
 reinforce Prince Henry ; La ;N"oue had not only saved Ro- 
 chelle, but recovered the greater part of Poitou ; and the ad- 
 miral had reached Chatillon-sur-Loing, his patrimonial seat.f 
 This was enough to alarm the court and turn their thoughts 
 to peace. After the battle at La Roche-Abeille there had 
 been an attempt at arrangement, and also after Moncontour, 
 but in both cases the language of the king and council was 
 very discouraging. At this juncture, however, the Moderate 
 party had recovered their ascendancy in the cabinet : " Five 
 out of the eight were atheists or Huguenots," says the Span- 
 ish embassador. J Yielding to their influence, the king and 
 his mother were inclined to be conciliatory, and to grant any 
 reasonable terms ; for the treasury was empty, and the Swiss 
 auxiliaries were threatening to return home unless their arrears 
 were paid. Nor were the Huguenots much better off. Their 
 army had received no pay for some time, their arms and 
 equipments were worn out, and they were far from their re- 
 sources. La Noue tells us that the prospect of a cessation of 
 hostilities was not popular with the extreme party on either 
 
 * Matthien, i. lir. v. p. 327. 
 
 t Chatillon-sur-Loing (not sur-Loire~), is in Loiret, fire leagues S.E. of 
 Montargis, and 16 leagues E. of Orleans, on the left bank of the Loing. 
 J Siinancas Archives : Bouille, ii. p. 454.
 
 314 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 side : the Catholics declaring it to be " an unworthy deed to 
 make peace with heretics, who deserved grievous punishment ; 
 the Huguenots deeming it to be nothing but treason." 
 Coligny himself appears to have held back at first, thinking 
 probably that no good could come from the negotiations ; but 
 his feelings on the matter may be gathered from the faithful 
 La Noue, who reports that after the peace was signed he ex- 
 claimed : " I would rather die than fall into the like confusions 
 again, and see so many mischiefs committed before my face." 
 
 After some preliminary discussion, five negotiators were ap- 
 pointed Teligny, Beauvais, La Node, Cavaignes, and La 
 Chassetiere by whom the conditions of a treaty were soon 
 arranged and presented for the ratification of the king and 
 the confederate princes. Once more the papal nuncio and 
 the Spanish embassador exerted all their influence to prolong 
 the war, even threatening Charles with their master's dis- 
 pleasure. But the French king, who had set his mind upon 
 peace, would listen to nothing, and the treaty was signed at 
 St. Germains in August, 1570. It conceded a full amnesty 
 for the past, all prisoners of war were to be released, and all 
 confiscated property restored; the appropriated churches 
 were to be given back to the Catholic priests ; no one was to 
 be troubled on account of his religion ; and the right of pub- 
 lic worship was conceded to the Reformed under certain re- 
 strictions. Huguenots were to enjoy equal rights with the 
 Catholics, and be eligible to every office in the State. The 
 right of appeal from the provincial parliaments was extended, 
 and galling condition ! four cities (La Rochelle, Montauban, 
 Cognac, and La Charite) were to be held for two years by 
 Huguenot garrisons as pledges for the fulfillment of the treaty 
 stipulations. 
 
 Immediately after the signing of the treaty, the Huguenots 
 disbanded their army ; the German auxiliaries were paid off 
 by a levy on the Protestant churches ; and the leaders proceed- 
 ed to La Rochelle, where Joan of Navarre was holding a lit- 
 tle court. The royal army was marched to various garrison
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 315 
 
 towns and then partly disbanded. On their route northward, 
 an incident occurred which shows how little regard was felt 
 for human life : nothing hardens the heart more than civil 
 war. When Strozzi had to cross the Loire, he found his 
 march so embarrassed by the number of female camp-follow- 
 ers, w r ho would not obey the proclamations to leave the army, 
 that he threw more than 800 of them into the Loire at Pont 
 de Co above Angers. * 
 
 The color given to the next two years of the reign of 
 Charles IX. depends much upon the view we take of the 
 Peace of St. Germains. "Was the court sincere, or only play- 
 ing a part to entice the Huguenots into a trap, and so get rid 
 of them at one blow ? This is the opinion of many, and par- 
 ticularly of Davila, who says positively that the peace was a 
 snare.f But he is occasionally too subtle : he belongs to that 
 class of historians who think that kings and statesmen regu- 
 late their policy by grand schemes of far-sighted calculation, 
 instead of living, as it were, from hand to mouth. The im- 
 prevu, to use an apt French word, plays a much more impor- 
 tant part in human affairs than some historians are willing to 
 believe. The Treaty of St. Germains and we have Walsing- 
 ham's express testimony to that effect J was the work of the 
 Politicians, all good Catholics, like Cosse, Damville, and 
 Montmorency. "Walsingham adds that the king had sharp- 
 ly rebuked the mutinous Parisians, and told them that he 
 meant to have the treaty " duly observed." He farther ex- 
 plains why Charles should have desired peace : " His own dis- 
 position, necessity, pleasure, misliking with certain of his 
 council and favoring of others." Walsingham already saw 
 the small cloud rising that would soon overshadow France : 
 "Monsieur (Anjou) can hardly digest to live in the degree of a 
 subject, having already the reputation of a king." 
 
 * Lc Pipre : Abreye chron. de la Maison du Rot, p. 30. (4tO. ed.). 
 
 t See also J. Rondinelli : Oratio in exequiis Knroll IX. Florentise, 1574. 
 
 J W.ilsinghnm to Leicester, 29th August, 1570. 
 
 Digges : Comjileat Ambassador, p. 7.
 
 316 MASSACRE or ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 Languet's testimony is equally decisive as to the pacific dis- 
 position of Charles IX.* Contarini speaks doubtfully about 
 the treaty, although he says " peace was the aim and desire of 
 the king and queen."f Indeed it was not Catherine's policy 
 to crush the Huguenots utterly : she needed them as a coun- 
 terpoise to the Guises, who, though at this time rather out of 
 favor at court, were, perhaps, all the more popular among the 
 fanatic masses. 
 
 It must be farther borne in mind that, at this turning-point 
 of Catherine's policy, not only the pope Avas not consulted, but 
 the court, in making peace, acted in direct opposition to his 
 representations. In January, Pius V. strongly advised a con- 
 tinuance of the war,J and when he heard of the treaty of St. 
 Germains, he wrote to the Cardinals of Lorraine and Bourbon, 
 expressing his " fears that God would inflict a judgment on 
 the king and all who counseled and took part in the infamous 
 negotiations. We can not refrain from tears as we think how 
 deplorable the peace is to all good men ; how full of danger, 
 and what a source of bitter regret." 
 
 It would have been very easy to quiet the holy father by 
 telling him that the treaty was a snare ; but nothing of the 
 kind was done ; and, on the contrary, the king and his mother 
 both represented to him the necessity of peace. Pius replied 
 in angry tones, and the court made answer that the king was 
 master in his own dominions to do as he pleased. In a some- 
 what similar manner, Spain tried to thwart the negotiations ; 
 Philip II. even offered to send Charles a force of 3000 horse 
 and 6000 foot, provided he would engage never to make peace 
 with the heretic rebels. But this attempt to prolong the war 
 also failed, and we learn from Walsingham's dispatches that 
 a great coolness sprang up between the two courts. 
 
 * Ad Camer. p. 132. " Omnes affirmant esse eximiae voluntatis regem ; 
 sed potentcs sunt factioncs eorum qui pacem improbant .... omnia 
 sunt hie tranquilla, nee dubitat quisquam regem esse pacis cupidissimnm.'' 
 p. 13G. t Baschet, p. 2r>2. 
 
 t " Nullam luci cum tenebris communionem, nullamque catholicis cum ha:, 
 reticis . . . compositionem esse posse." Letter of 29th January, 1570, Potter.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 317 
 
 There is a letter written on the 10th December, four months 
 after the signature of the treaty, which shows very plainly the 
 feeling of the government. The clergy of Tours had com- 
 plained of the licensed Protestant meeting-place at Maille, 
 and petitioned that it should be removed to Montdoubleau or 
 elsewhere. Charles replied that he would Avillingly grant 
 their prayer, could he do so without contravening the Edict, 
 which he was determined " to keep and observe inviolably ;" 
 but he promised to consult .with Xavarre and Conde on the 
 matter, and if possible, with their consent, the change should 
 be made.* Two months later (13th February, 1571), Charles 
 writes to Humieres, governor of Peronne and an old friend, 
 expressing his satisfaction at the peaceful state of the country 
 and his intention to reduce the army.f 
 
 In the Archives of Gap there is a letter from the king to 
 the baillis,in which he rejoices at the prosperous state of the 
 kingdom and good conduct of the people ; testifies the liveliest 
 desire to consolidate union and concord between all his sub- 
 jects, and recommends them " de tenir la main a 1'execution 
 exacte de son edit de pacification, et de punir ceux qui y con- 
 treviendraient " (4th May, 1572). Charles was proud of the 
 treaty of St. Germains, spoke of it as his own treaty and his 
 own peace, artfully insinuating (adds Sully, a prejudiced wit- 
 ness) that he consented to this peace in order to support the 
 princes of the blood against the overweening presumption of 
 the Guises, whom he accused of conspiring with Spain to 
 throw the kingdom into confusion. The Guises certainly had 
 nothing to do with the treaty. They opposed it instead of 
 supporting it ; a course they would hardly have adopted had 
 they been aware that it was a trap for the Huguenots. The 
 Cardinal of Lorraine even wished to leave the court, so strong- 
 ly did he disapprove of the negotiations. Fornier indeed, 
 
 * Tours Archives. Lnzarche : Lettres Mstoriques (18G1), p. 129. 
 
 t " Voyant maintenant les affaires de mon royaume rcduites au bon e'tat 
 qu'elles sont (Dien merci), apres qu'il lui a plu pacifier des troubles qui y 
 ctaient." MS3. Bibl. Imp. inSoldan: FranJcreichunddieBartholomceusnacht.
 
 318 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 in his unpublished history of the house of Guise, says that it 
 was the cardinal who proposed " ce grand coup d'etat " the 
 peace and the massacre and that it was approved of by the 
 king in a council to which the queen-mother, Anjou, the Duke 
 of Guise, and De Retz, " tous gens d'un secret inviolable," were 
 summoned ; * but the duke was not in favor at the time, and 
 the statement is entirely unsupported. It is also positive 
 that Anjou greatly disapproved of the negotiations. 
 
 But it is contended that all these things were part of the 
 plot Anjou's dislike, the duke's absence, the king's zeal. It 
 may be so ; but this hypothesis involves us in greater difficul- 
 ties than the other. If we assume that the government was 
 sincere, every thing becomes clear for the next two years ; if 
 we adopt the contrary opinion, the course of events up to the 
 eve of the massacre is an inextricable maze. True, it is im- 
 possible to say whether Catherine accepted the treaty without 
 any arriere-pensee, any mental reservation ; for she accepted 
 every thing, and was sincere in nothing except her master-pas- 
 sion to govern France. For this, she not only played one 
 party against the other, but habitually dallied with opposing 
 schemes, intriguing now on this side, now on that, deceiving 
 and betraying all. The most serious objection to the sincerity 
 of the government is the shyness, the unwillingness of the Re- 
 formed chiefs to go to court, or even to visit their OWH estates. 
 But then, if they suspected treachery, why did they consent to 
 the treaty of St. Germains, or to any treaty, thus preparing a 
 snare for themselves ? Better die in the field struggling for 
 liberty, than perish ingloriously like rats in a trap. Sully, in 
 a measure, clears away the doubt just raised. In his " Royal 
 Economies " he says : " "With a view of giving a more solid 
 foundation and consistency to their affairs, they resolved to 
 take up their residence permanently at La Rochelle, within 
 the walls of which they could alone consider themselves in se- 
 curity." 
 
 * Bouille, ii. 456, note,. See also Etat de France, i. 12 b (ed. 1579). Le 
 Tocsain, p. 93 (ed. 1579).
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 319 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM. 
 
 [August, 1570, to August, 1572.] 
 
 Albert and Pierre de Gondi, Birague, Strozzi, Nevcrs, and Henry of Guise 
 Marriage of Charles IX Nuptial Festivities at Paris Embassy of the 
 German Princes Violent Sermons Outrages at Orange and Rouen 
 Objects of the Politiques Revolt in Flanders Position of Affairs In- 
 terview between the King and Prince Louis of Nassau Spanish Threats 
 Coligny's Marriage The Admiral goes to Blois Conferences with the 
 King Proposed Marriage of Henry and Margaret Murder of Ligne- 
 rolles The Gastine Cross Queen of Navarre at Blois Alessandrino'g 
 Special Embassy Letters to Rome Negotiations Pope refuses the Dis- 
 pensation Fears of the Parisians. 
 
 THE Peace of St. Germains was a severe blow to the for- 
 eigners by whom the court was infested. Their interests 
 were entirely opposed to those of France, and their great ob- 
 ject was to enrich themselves, by any means however base 
 and unworthy. They were found everywhere filling up the 
 rich sees, wealthy abbacies, court places where money could 
 be got without peril to life or toil of body. Their expulsion 
 seemed to be the only means of saving the country and ensur- 
 ing that permanent concord at which the " Politiques " had 
 aimed in supporting the late treaty. 
 
 The chief among these foreigners were Gondi, Birague, and 
 Strozzi. Albert de Gondi better known in history as Mar- 
 shal de Retz was a man of low origin, his mother acting as 
 wet-nurse to Catherine's children, so that Albert and Charles 
 IX. were foster-brothers, and thus there naturally grew up a 
 strong attachment between them. After the death of Henry 
 II. Albert rose rapidly, and was made successively knight of 
 the orders of St. Michael and of the Holy Ghost, first gentle-
 
 320 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 man of the bed-chamber, privy councilor, general of the gal- 
 leys, duke, peer, marshal, and governor of Provence, in which 
 he succeeded Marshal Tende, "to the great indignation of 
 the nobility," says De Thou.* It was this man who, appoint- 
 ed governor to the young king Charles, corrupted and per- 
 verted all his promising qualities. His latter days were very 
 miserable : for twenty years he lingered on, not living but suf- 
 fering, and died in 1602, an example of divine justice.f 
 
 Abstulit hunc tandem Kufini pcena tumultum, 
 Absolvitque Deos. 
 
 Pierre de Gondi was chancellor to the queen, bishop, Duke 
 of Langres, and then of Paris, the possessor of four abbeys, 
 commander of the order of the Holy Ghost, and cardinal. 
 There was another brother, Charles, also weh 1 provided for. 
 
 Rene de Birague, who had succeeded the virtuous L'Hopi- 
 tal in the chancellorship, was a Milanese, and in succession 
 lawyer, soldier, courtier, priest, chancellor, and cardinal. He 
 was a thorough Italian, careless of religion, unscrupulous, fond 
 of intrigue, time-serving, and slavishly submissive to the 
 king's caprices. Mezeray describes him as " a magistrate 
 without learning or application, who bent like a reed before 
 every breath of wind from the court." It was he who ad- 
 vised Charles IX. to get rid of the Huguenots, not by the 
 help of soldiers but of cooks in other words, by poison. 
 Philip Strozzi, son of the brave but unfortunate Marshal 
 Pietro Strozzi, became, at the early age of twenty-two, 
 quarter-master of the French guards, and colonel-general of 
 the French infantry, which gave him almost unlimited au- 
 thority. The French soldiers murmured at being placed un- 
 der his orders.J 
 
 Louis de Gonzaga was another of this Italian band. One 
 historian calls him " a worthy prince," but his worth was 
 
 * "Non sine magna procerum indignatione." Elsewhere he is described 
 as a " monstrnm nulla virtute redemptum." 
 
 t "Miroir de la Justice divine." L'Estoile. J Davila, i. p. 500.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 321 
 
 due more to his timidity than to his honesty. * These were 
 the principal confidants of the queen-mother, and their only 
 aim was to preserve what they had got. The chief of the 
 Guises was Henry of Lorraine, surnamed " le Balafre." He 
 was not so good a soldier as his father, but was at all, hand- 
 some man, with keen eye, light beard and curly hair ; liber- 
 al to profusion, easy in speech, well read in Tacitus, and per- 
 fect in all bodily and military exercises. But his good qual- 
 ities were marred by an insatiable thirst for glory and a de- 
 sire for authority. When Henry III. asked how it was that 
 Duke Henry enchanted every body, the reply was: "He 
 does good to all and speaks ill of none." He had succeeded 
 to most of the great charges of his father, as grand master, 
 high chamberlain, and governor of Champagne. 
 
 The peace of St. Germains was acceptable to the larger 
 portion of the Huguenot party, many of whom had not visited 
 their homes since the first outbreak of the wars, and their af- 
 fairs had become so disordered that ruin appeared almost in- 
 evitable. The noise of the trumpet and the drum had 
 drowned the quieter voice of religion, the Protestant church- 
 es were decaying, discipline was relaxed, and doctrine becom- 
 ing unsound. A general synod was required to put these 
 matters straight, and this, the seventh, was by the king's per- 
 mission held at Rochelle in April, 1571, under the presidency 
 of Theodore Beza. The Queen of Navarre and the young 
 princes of Beam and Conde were present at the opening cer- 
 emony along with the admiral and Count Louis of Nassau. 
 The great work of this synod was to revise the confession of 
 1559, and issue an authoritative text, of which three copies on 
 parchment were made. One of these standards was to be 
 kept at Rochelle, another at Geneva, and a third at Pau 
 
 * He was made Duke of Nevers after his marriage with Henrietta of 
 Nevers, sister of Catherine of Cloves, the widow of Prince Porcien. Hen- 
 rietta was the eldest daughter of the Duke of Nevers and Margaret of Bour- 
 bon, sister to Anthony of Navarre. Maria, the youngest daughter, married 
 Henry of Conde in 1572. 
 
 X
 
 322 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 in Beam. The first and last disappeared during the civil 
 wars. 
 
 Very different were the occupations of the court, which an 
 historian, whom I have often consulted with advantage, de- 
 scribes as being "more licentious than that of Francis I., 
 without the varnish of gallantry which conceals the excesses 
 of passion." * Catherine was fond of ease : her voluptuous 
 Italian nature delighted in balls and masquerades, in fetes 
 and banquets. She could now once more indulge her taste 
 for the arts, and during this period we find her busy with 
 her new palace of the Tuileries, laying out gardens, talking 
 with Bernard Palissy, now a man of note ; or Avith Jean Bul- 
 lant, whose reputation has been dwarfed by the greater re- 
 nown of his predecessor Philip do 1'Orme. Wherever she 
 went, a gay troop of beautiful women accompanied her. 
 Their charms were employed to convert the queen's foes into 
 friends, and to learn the secrets of her enemies. " Le bal 
 marcha tou jours," growls that rough old . warrior Mont- 
 luc. 
 
 The king's mtf&iage was an opportunity for gayeties not 
 to be lost. It is said that one of his motives for concluding 
 the treaty of St. Germains was the unwillingness of the Em- 
 peror Maximilian to part with his daughter while France was 
 in a state of civil commotion. There may have been other 
 causes of delay, for very unfavorable reports of the king's health 
 and disposition had got abroad. His character certainly had 
 not improved during the few years he had occupied the 
 throne. lie was fond of athletic sports, and excelled in jump- 
 ing and tennis. He took delight in shoeing horses and work- 
 ing at the forge, like a blacksmith.f He was addicted to the 
 chase "even to frenzy," passing whole days and nights in 
 the woods. J This made him " cruel toward beasts, but not to- 
 
 * Capefigue. 
 
 t He is reported t have spent several hours at his forge on the very cvc 
 of the massacre. 
 
 t Under date 22d llarch, 1751, Smith writes to Burghley from Blois:
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 323 
 
 ward men." * Sometimes he and his madcap associates 
 would tear along the roads, decapitating any unlucky donkey 
 he might encounter, or transfixing stray pigs with his hunting 
 spear, f Then, as if maddened by the sight of blood, he would 
 dabble in their entrails like a butcher. He was fond of prac- 
 tical jokes ; often at night he would break into the bedrooms 
 of his young companions, pull them out of bed, and flog them 
 as if they were school-boys. He was not licentious, and Ma- 
 rie Touchet was the object of a sincere passion. Perjury 
 seemed to him nothing but a figure of speech and no crime ; 
 he therefore violated his word as often as it seemed profita- 
 ble to do so. But fortunately for the human race "men 
 are not all evil," and in his lucid moments for Charles was 
 at times quite insane he appears affectionate and desirous of 
 doing what is right. When at Bayonne, he quite disgusted 
 the unscrupulous Alva by saying that to take up arms against 
 his own subjects was quite out of the question, and could 
 only be followed by general ruin. Though no soldier, he had 
 seen service at the sieges of Bourges, Rouen, Havre, and St. 
 Jean d'Angely, and possessed all the ambition of his race to 
 extend the frontiers of his kingdom. There were times when 
 he courted the society of men of letters, and would shut him- 
 self up with " his friends " Ronsard, Baif , Passerat, or Theo- 
 dore Corneille, to compose verses. Kor was he himself a 
 stranger to the Muses, if the fragments ascribed to him are 
 really from his pen. Even his treatise on hunting La 
 Chasse royale shows him to have possessed considerable 
 skill. Such was the man to whose word the Huguenots had 
 entrusted their property and lives, and to whom the Emperor 
 of Germany was about to entrust his daughter. Perhaps it 
 
 " Inordinate hunting, so early in the morning and so late at night, without 
 sparing frost, snow, or rain, and in so despotic a manner as makes her 
 (Catherine) and those that love him to be often in great fear." 
 
 * " Sanguineum reddebat in feras, non in homines." Raumer (i. p. 271) 
 suggests the omission of non, as being at variance with history. 
 
 t The Arc/lives curieuses (viii.) contain a statement of the sums paid by 
 the king for the animals thus slain.
 
 324 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 was hoped that the amiable Elizabeth would tame him down, 
 as in later years and in another country Peter the Czar was 
 controlled by the low-born Catherine. 
 
 The betrothal took place at Spires on the 22d of October, 
 and the marriage was solemnized on the 26th of November at 
 Mezieres. The festivities by which it was followed lasted all 
 winter. In the following March the new queen entered Paris 
 under a rustic gate-way, " finer than had ever been seen before, 
 and looking quite natural on account of the herbs, snails, and 
 lizards depicted on it." We could almost fancy it a contriv- 
 ance of Bernard Palissy's. The queen rode in an open litter 
 hung with cloth of silver within and without, and the mules 
 that bore it were similarly adorned. Elizabeth herself was 
 covered with jewels, and wore a dazzling crown on her head. 
 The corporation of the city made their usual tiresome ha- 
 rangues, which they followed up by presenting the young queen 
 with a silver gilt buffet, and then invited her to partake of a 
 collation at the H6tel-de-Ville, at which the refreshments 
 were of the choicest description. " There was every kind of 
 fruit found in the world, and every sort of meat and fish, all 
 made out of sugar and looking quite natural." The dishes 
 containing these chefs-d'oeuvre of the confectionery art were 
 also of silver. Poets and musicians contributed in their re- 
 spective departments, and the king was so pleased with their 
 performances that they were induced especially Baif and 
 Theodore Corneille to propose the founding of an Academy 
 of Music and Poetry. 
 
 The decorations of the bridge of Notre Dame will serve to 
 show the magnificence of the age and the feelings entertained 
 by the court with regard to the recent pacification. A tri- 
 umphal arch had been erected at each extremity, and the road- 
 way covered in by an awning on which the ciphers and heral- 
 dic bearings of the royal pair were represented in flowers and 
 evergreens. "It looked like a vision of the Elysian fields."* 
 
 * Recueil de ce qui a ete faict a I'entree, etc. , in the Library of Ste. Gene- 
 vieve.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 325 
 
 Between every window on the first floor of the houses were 
 half-figures of nymphs bearing fruits and flowers ; above 
 them were wreaths of laurel from which depended the shields 
 of the several members of the royal family with emblematical 
 devices. At the crown of each arch stood a statue on an al- 
 tar : in one place a Victory, bound to an olive-tree, " indicated 
 allegorically how the marriage of Charles and Elizabeth se- 
 cured the welfare and repose of their people." On one of the 
 panels of the base an altar was represented, by the side of 
 Avhich stood a priest in his sacerdotal robes, and near him a 
 lamb for the sacrifice. This was intended to signify that 
 whosoever violated the Edict of Pacification should suffer the 
 fate of the lamb. At the four corners stood four armed men 
 representing the four marshals of France, empowered to carry 
 out and enforce the edict. Fo&dus immortale was the motto. 
 On another panel bees were represented storing honey among a 
 pile of arms, with two lines from Ovid, showing the happy ef- 
 fects of peace. 
 
 In another place a spider was seen weaving his web over a 
 bundle of swords, gauntlets, morions, and such like, with an 
 inscription from Theocritus, explaining how sure a sign 
 this was of peace and oblivion of past quarrels. But among 
 the masques given during these nuptial festivities there was 
 one in which Charles IX. appeared as Jupiter, Elizabeth as 
 Minerva, and Catherine as Juno, while the Huguenots were 
 represented as Typhon aud the Giants. One of the devices 
 was strikingly suggestive of impending treachery : 
 
 Cadme, relinque ratem ; pastoria sibila finge ; 
 Fas superare dolo, quern vis non vincit aperta. 
 
 It would, however, be unfair to give political importance to 
 what was probably nothing more than the unauthorized lan- 
 guage of a court poet. One little incident connected with 
 these rejoicings may be adduced, however, to show the bigot- 
 ed temper of the Parisians: they were scandalized that the 
 court should amuse itself with balls and banquets, and other 
 festivities during the season of Lent !
 
 326 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 One thing was wanting to these rejoicings none of the Prot- 
 estant leaders were present. They still kept aloof at Rochelle, 
 endeavoring to give consistency to their affairs. " And they 
 did wisely," says the Abbe Perau in his Life of Coligny; 
 "for orders had been issued to arrest the principal of them 
 immediately upon their arrival." This statement, although 
 corroborated by the compiler of the " Memoires de 1'Etat de 
 France," may well be doubted. The air was thick with suspi- 
 cions, some of which had evidently reached the German Prot- 
 estant courts ; and to show the interest they took in the con- 
 dition of their co-religionists in France, the electors-palatine of 
 Saxony and Brandenburg, the dukes of Bavaria, Brunswick, 
 and Wurtemburg, and others, resolved to send an embassy to 
 congratulate Charles on his marriage. Charles received the 
 embassadors at Villars-Cotterets, a magnificent mansion built 
 by Francis I. They began by complimenting him : " Our mas- 
 ters know that your majesty, being so young, was not the au- 
 thor of the late war. It was the work of certain turbulent 
 and wicked men, who take delight in disorders and confusion. 
 Continue to deserve that most august of titles the Peace- 
 maker and punish sternly every one who attempts to cause 
 any fresh disturbance in your kingdom. ... In the multitude 
 of people, as the Wise Man saith, is the king's honor (Prov- 
 erbs xiv. 28), and the principal law imposed by God and na- 
 ture upon kings and princes is the preservation of their sub- 
 jects. Those who would induce you to break your faith, say- 
 ing that it is impossible for a state to exist where there is a 
 diversity of religion, speak differently from what they think, or 
 are ignorant of what has been done in many great and flour- 
 ishing states." The embassadors showed him that the Grand 
 Turk permitted Christians to live at peace in his dominions, 
 that the Emperor Charles V. had come to terms with the 
 Protestants of Germany, and that even the pope suffered Jews 
 to settle in his states. " God alone," they said, " can command 
 the consciences of men ; and be assured, Sire, that those are 
 your best subjects and your best friends who urge you to the
 
 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 327 
 
 observance of all you have promised in your edicts of peace." 
 Charles thanked them for their kind expressions, and said 
 that it was his ardent desire to maintain peace between all his 
 subjects, as the sole means of prosperity to his kingdom. He 
 then dismissed the embassadors in the most courteous man- 
 ner, embracing them and loading them with presents. Charles 
 used similar language in his address to the Parliament of 
 Paris in March, 1571. "I thank God," he said " that the troub- 
 les are over, and hope above all things to establish peace so 
 surely, that my subjects will never fall again into the calami- 
 ties from which they have been rescued. I will set to work 
 earnestly, and trust that you will support me." * 
 
 Such an appeal was quite necessary, for the conciliatory 
 Edict of St. Germains a mere repetition of the articles of 
 the treaty had not always been scrupulously carried out. 
 This depended in great measure upon the views the provin- 
 cial governors took of the edict; some rendering it almost 
 nugatory by the way in which they interpreted it, others 
 giving it the most liberal construction. Thus in the regula- 
 tions published at Gap (10th February, 1571), Montmorency- 
 Damville, relying upon the Thirteenth Article of the treaty, 
 forbade the Reformers to assemble to the number of more 
 than ten at the funeral of one of their co-religionists. And 
 yet this was considered a pacificatory order. He also assign- 
 ed the town of Chorges, four leagues north of Gap, as the au- 
 thorized place of worship for the Upper Alps. It was a long 
 distance for the Reformers to go every Sunday; but these 
 were times of religious fervor, and as the Huguenots walked 
 along, singing their hymns, they forgot the fatigues of the 
 way.f 
 
 In many places, the clergy in their pulpits pandered to the 
 worst passions of their ignorant flocks. The king and the 
 queen-mother were denounced as traitors one was a Judas, 
 
 * Hist, de France (by Le Ffcre de Laval and Piguerre), fol. 1581. Mem. 
 tat de France, i. 40. 
 f Charronet, p. 65.
 
 328 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 the other a Jezebel because they did not order the " rascally 
 heretics " to be slaughtered. The fires of Sodom and Gomor- 
 rah were invoked upon the heads of the Huguenots. " Arise, 
 Joshua, and smite Makkeddah with the edge of the sword." 
 Joshua was Anjou, and Makkeddah Rochelle. These ravings 
 did not fall to the ground.* On Sunday, the 4th March, 1571, 
 as the Protestants of Rouen were going to divine worship out- 
 side the city walls, they were attacked and beaten, and fifteen 
 were killed. Still greater atrocities had been perpetrated at 
 Orange in the preceding month, the murders continuing for 
 three days, during which the popular fury spared neither 
 women nor children. Such things naturally tended to make 
 the Huguenot chiefs suspicious, and to perpetuate the divis- 
 ion of the people into two hostile camps. 
 
 The great object of the Politicians who had brought about 
 the Treaty of St. Germains, was to make France independent 
 at home and respected abroad ; above all things, to get rid of 
 Spanish influence in their domestic affairs. That patriotic 
 party knew well how Philip II. had fomented their civil dis- 
 sensions,! and they saw that a long continuance of peace was 
 hopeless unless the foreign intriguers could be got rid of. 
 The king himself had a glimpse of this truth, and was besides 
 very jealous of the position assumed by his brother o'f Anjou. 
 
 * A "chanson " of this period strikingly prefigures the massacre of 1572. 
 Here is one verse : 
 
 Nos capitainos, corporiaux, 
 Ont des coraelets tout nouveaux 
 
 Et des cousteaux 
 Pour Hugenota egorgetter 
 
 Kt une escharpe rouge 
 Que toua voulons porter, etc. Le Roux de Lincy, ii. 295. 
 
 In another chanson (No. xvii.) Coligny is threatened : 
 
 Pendu & une potence, 
 Paiaaant de aa chair et peau 
 Le corbeau. 
 
 t "There were men near to his sovereign (Charles IX.) who wished to 
 bring him up in the Reformed religion ; but he (Philip) would anticipate 
 them, and embroil all the world beforehand." Letter in Le Plat: Mon. 
 Hist. Condi. Trident. Collect, v. p. 571 (4to. Lovain, 1781-1787).
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 329 
 
 
 
 The queen-mother also expressed her dislike of the attitude 
 taken by Philip ; but she was so thoroughly false that no re- 
 liance could be placed upon any thing she said. It is not nec- 
 essary to go back to the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis in 1559, 
 which contained nothing particularly humiliating, and had 
 % been condoned by the subsequent intercourse between the 
 two countries, although it must have been very galling to 
 French pride as indeed to the pride of any nation to sur- 
 render its conquests. The active interference of Spain in the 
 politics of France began with the criminal intrigues of the 
 house of Lorraine. Their fanatical and spurious orthodoxy 
 was, as we h,ave seen, ardently supported by Philip II., who 
 never ceased personally, or through his embassador, to urge 
 the complete destruction of the Huguenots. He even went 
 so far, on more than one occasion, as to threaten war, if the 
 court made any concession to the heretics. We have seen 
 the result : France had been rent in pieces by civil war, and 
 Protestantism was as strong as ever. To this Spain had 
 brought them : might it not be possible, by reversing the pol- 
 icy, to reverse the results? The opportunity was not unfavor- 
 able, and there were grievances to be redressed. The Flem- 
 ings were still in open revolt : the cruelties of the blood- 
 thirsty Alva had given an intensity to their hatred, which 
 nothing but total extermination could subdue. It would not 
 be prudent to allow the duke to go too far, and if by a word 
 from France the insurgents could be stimulated to farther 
 sacrifices, Philip II. would be so weakened that he would 
 cease to be a dangerous neighbor. It must not be forgotten 
 that Spain was at this time the first power in Europe. The 
 successes of Alva, the expulsion of the Moors, the victory of 
 Lepanto, and the conquests in Northern Africa, showed that 
 her vigor was undiminished ; and though her humiliation was 
 at hand, nothing at this time indicated any failure of her re- 
 sources. It was the image of Daniel r gold, silver, brass, 
 and iron, but with feet of clay; and the small stone des- 
 tined to smite it was one of the smallest powers in Europe.
 
 330 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 Had France seen her own true interest, she, and not England, 
 might " have become a great mountain and filled the whole 
 earth." 
 
 The Venetian embassador, Correro, writing on the prospect 
 of war with Spain, represents, as one of the many grounds of 
 hatred between the Spaniards and the French, that Flanders , 
 naturally belongs to France, and that a campaign to recover 
 it would give employment to the cadets of the noble families. 
 It would not cost a drop of blood, if France were only to 
 promise " the same liberty of conscience which her own sub- 
 jects enjoyed." Add to this, Charles was offended : " Spain 
 seemeth to set the king here very light, which engendreth 
 in him a great desire of revenge, but lacketh treasure to make 
 open demonstration thereof." * 
 
 These were the ideas, not of Protestants only, but of un- 
 doubted Catholics, men of whose orthodoxy there can be no 
 suspicion. L'Hopital had once been the directing spirit of 
 this moderate party ; but, since his retirement from public 
 life, Marshal Francis Montmorency, eldest son of the consta- 
 ble, became their leader. Philip knew him well, and feared 
 him as the most formidable of his enemies in France. He 
 was seconded by his brother Damville, by Cosse, Biron, and 
 others. It was Montmorency who (according to Tavannes) 
 had saved the Huguenots at Moncontour by preventing the 
 victory from being followed up ; and, according to Walsing- 
 ham, the Peace of St. Germains was his work. By the mere 
 force of personal character, he had become a very influential 
 man, and Charles showed him the greatest affection. One 
 day, when the king had visited him at his castle of Chantilly, 
 he told his royal master that there could be no lasting peace, 
 unless Protestants and Catholics could be persuaded to live 
 together in harmony : that, or the extermination of one of the 
 parties, was the only alternative. But how was the present 
 hostile state of things to be remedied ? By uniting both par- 
 
 * Walsingham, 25th June, 1571.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 331 
 
 ties against their common enemy, Spain.* It is not known 
 with whom the idea arose, whether with Montmorency or 
 Cosse ; but it was eagerly taken up by the king, who hoped 
 in the coming war to gather laurels that would shame those 
 won by his brother of Anjou. 
 
 A feeling of uneasiness and distrust had for some time past 
 been growing up between France and Spain. When the Duke 
 of Alva had asked permission to recruit volunteers in France 
 for the Flemish war, it was refused, lest the Huguenots should 
 think it "a device to reach themselves.''! To the demand 
 that certain ships, supposed to be fitting out at La Rochelle 
 against Spain, should be seized, Mondoucet, the French agent 
 to Alva, replied that some of the ships were intended to act 
 against the pirates who infested the narrow seas, and as for 
 those which belonged to private persons, the crown could not 
 interfere. St. Goar, the embassador at Madrid, was instruct- 
 ed to make similar explanations. This was a mere evasion, 
 for the power of the crown had never been so limited in 
 France. As William of Orange was in want of funds to 
 carry on his heroic struggle in Flanders, his brother Louis of 
 Nassau endeavored to procure a loan from Duke Cosmo I. of 
 Florence. Charles supported the scheme by offering to rec- 
 ognize the. duke's, title to the crown of Tuscany, and aid him 
 in his attempt on Corsica, provided he would assist the Flem- 
 ish insurgents with money.J The duke refused, but the king 
 still continued faithful to his idea of a war against Spain. 
 The diplomatic correspondence of the period is full of refer- 
 ences to it. During all this time Coligny was actively cor- 
 responding with Montmorency ; and at his suggestion a pri- 
 vate interview was arranged between Charles and Count 
 Louis, which took place in a garden of the castle of Lumigny, 
 about a league from Fontenay-en-Brie, where the king had 
 
 * " Che '1 Francese sia quasi necessitate desiderare la guerra con Spagn- 
 uoli." Tommaseo : Relations Venitiennes, ii. p. 171. 
 
 t Walsingham to Leicester, 5th March, 1572; Digges, p. 49. 
 J Alberi : Vita di Caterina de' Medici.
 
 332 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 gone on the pretense of rabbit hunting. Its object was kept 
 a secret from the royal councilors ; for Charles was well as- 
 sured that if they became acquainted with it, they would com- 
 municate it to the court of Spain. We may imagine that the 
 count spoke of his recent conversations with the admiral, and 
 that, as a Protestant, he would not start objections to any 
 plan of assisting his fellow-countrymen which the king might 
 entertain. He gave weight to his prayer for aid by offering 
 in return the valuable provinces of Flanders and Artois (for 
 which promise he had no authority from his brother Wil- 
 liam) ; and hinted that, at the next vacation of the empire, 
 the choice of the electors might fall upon Charles. Louis 
 succeeded in convincing him that his former advisers had 
 counseled him unwisely, and that he had narrowly escaped 
 falling into the same position as Philip II. held toward his 
 Flemish subjects. The king promised to take into his most 
 serious consideration all that the count had told him, reserv- 
 ing to himself the right to disavow any projects that might 
 be ascribed to him, until the time for action had arrived.* 
 The secret interview soon became known, and the Spanish 
 embassador, Alava, threatened the displeasure of his royal mas- 
 ter. Charles and his mother both answered evasively, add- 
 ing : " As for fearing us with wars, you do mistake us ; let 
 every one do therein what best liketh him."f Affairs were 
 hurrying on more quickly than Charles had anticipated; 
 Spain was threatening war, and no preparations had been 
 made. A matrimonial alliance between Anjou and Elizabeth, 
 which would place the resources of England at the disposal 
 of France, was the key of the position ; but the queen . was 
 coy, and refused to give a decided answer. Without such 
 close alliance war with Spain was impossible ; for En- 
 
 * Walsingham (Gth August, 1571) gives an account of this interview from 
 tho report of the prince himself. Digges, p. 174. The tat de France (i. 
 44.) says Catherine was present, which is a mistake. 
 
 t Walsingham to Burleigh, 12th August, 1571. " Galli apud Hispanos 
 in tantum suspicioncm vivere." Schardlus Rediv. iv. p. 177.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 333 
 
 gland cast a longing eye on Flanders, and would regard the 
 French conquests in that quarter with suspicion. What was 
 to be done ? Should Charles give way, or brave the conse- 
 quences ? There was only one man in France competent to 
 advise on such a point, and he still remained aloof at Ro- 
 chelle. 
 
 When Louis of Nassau left that city to confer with 
 Charles, he bore a letter from the admiral, complaining of a 
 plot that had been got up to treat the Huguenots worse than 
 before, and that no attempt had been made to punish the pei-- 
 petrators of the outrages at Orange and Rouen. He then 
 went on to justify his suspicions and his absence from the 
 court : " It will be difficult for those of the religion to be- 
 lieve that your majesty desires things should go on well, so 
 long as they see the authors of the tumults about him." 
 He followed up this side-blow at the Guises by suggesting 
 that all suspicions would be allayed were the king to punish 
 the perpetrators of the outrages at Rouen and Orange. 
 Charles IX. acted upon the advice : he sent a commission of 
 inquiry to Rouen. Many of the rioters were hanged, but 
 the ringleaders escaped and found shelter among the Catho- 
 lics, who seem to have received them rather as heroes than as 
 criminals ; much in the same way as a murderer is still har- 
 bored among the Irish peasantry. The king also manifested 
 great displeasure toward his brother of Anjou, and so openly 
 insulted the Duke of Guise that he had no alternative but to 
 leave the court. 
 
 Count Louis returned to Rochelle strongly impressed with 
 the king's gracious demeanor, and urged Coligny to accept 
 his sovereign's invitation to court. He spoke of the project- 
 ed matrimonial alliance between England and France, which 
 was manifestly hostile to Spain, and would strengthen the 
 Huguenot cause ; and showed the draft of a treaty, by which 
 Charles promised to attack Flanders on one side, while the 
 Prince of Orange attacked it on the other. Marshal Cosse, 
 one of the " Politicians," confirmed this report. The admi-
 
 334 MASSACRE OP ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 ral's son-in-law, Teligny, had also returned from the court with 
 a flattering account of the king's demeanor. Charles at this 
 time was seen in a most favorable light, and it was evident 
 that the quiet influence of his amiable wife was beginning to 
 be felt in his character. He was less boisterous in his amuse- 
 ments, less changeable in temper, and seemed to have buried 
 the past in oblivion. Indeed he went so far in his display of 
 good-will toward the Huguenots as to raise a suspicion that 
 he supported them designedly against his mother, his brother 
 Henry, and the Guises. " I am no longer so young," he said, 
 " as to need a governor. I am willing to listen to advice, but 
 will receive no orders. I am sick of war, and my peace shall 
 be observed. I have been deceived all along about the 
 Huguenots, and for the future will keep the factions in order 
 myself." He complained to Teligny, for whom he had con- 
 ceived a strong liking,* that his mother kept him in thraldom, 
 and preferred Anjou to him ; that she governed the realm 
 in such a way that he was of no account ; and that to remedy 
 this he was resolved to send both of them away from the 
 court ; and that he wanted Coligny's advice, especially with 
 regard to the proposed war in Flanders. In fact every thing 
 seemed now to turn upon the admiral's presence at court. 
 
 While these negotiations were in progress, the little Hugue- 
 not court at Rochelle was the scene of nuptial festivities, the 
 admiral having taken a second wife, and given his daughter 
 Louisa to Teligny.f Coligny's marriage had a tinge of ro- 
 mance in it that could hardly have been expected. Jacque- 
 line of Montbel, Countess of Entremont, and widow of Claude, 
 Baron of Anthon, who was killed at Dreux (or, as others 
 write, at St. Denis), was so captivated by his heroism that 
 
 * Walsingham to Leicester (22d April, 1571) shows Teligny's footing 
 with the king. The embassador hints at opposition to the war against 
 Spain lest it should give the management to other hands and parties. 
 
 t After Teligny's murder she married William of Orange. The present 
 Count of Paris is descended from Louisa of Coligny, through his mother 
 Helena of Mecklenburg.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 335 
 
 she made him an offer of her hand, having the ambition (as 
 she said) to be the Marcia of the new Cato.* As if he were 
 of royal lineage, the admiral was married by proxy. When 
 the bride approached Rochelle, escorted by fifty gentlemen of 
 her kindred, the bridegroom went out a league to meet her. 
 Cannon roared a noisy salute, and all the bells which the 
 Huguenots had spared rang merrily from the steeples, as the 
 noble lady entered the city. To show their esteem for the ad- 
 miral, the citizens mustered under arms and lined the streets 
 from the gate to the Hotel Coligny, where a great concourse of 
 nobles and gentlemen had assembled to do him honor. 
 The marriage was a happy one, despite the inversion of the 
 ordinary mode of courtship. On becoming a widow once 
 more, Jacqueline returned to Savoy, where she was imprison- 
 ed on a charge of witchcraft, her wealth being the real crime. 
 Henry IV. ineffectually interceded for her, and she died in- 
 sane at the castle of Nice, 1599. 
 
 Coligny, happy in his domestic life, had little desire to 
 leave Rochelle for the treacherous atmosphere of the court. 
 But Charles could not do without him, and Elizabeth of En- 
 gland felt that his presence was necessary for the success of 
 the delicate negotiations then in hand. Walsingham had 
 written to her, recommending that she should hint to La 
 Mothe-Fenelon, the French embassador, that she would .like 
 to see Charles " calling the princes and admiral to court, 
 and that so rare a subject as the admiral is, was not to be 
 suffered to live in such a corner as Rochelle." Walsingham 
 adds that the king was now " very well affected toward him " 
 (Coligny). In another letter he says he is going to Blois, 
 where the princes and the admiral are to meet, and that all 
 
 * She admired in Colipny " un assortimcnt rare de vertus et de talens qu : . 
 lui rendaient la haute idee dp 1'ancien he'roisme." Arcere : Hist. Rochelle 
 (4to. 1756), i. p. 392. In order to prevent the marriage, the nuncio Sal- 
 viati proposed her assassination: "Lc remede serait de se de'barrasser, par 
 tons les moyens possibles, dc cette me'chante fiance'e." Coquerel : La Sainte- 
 Barthelemy (Paris, 1859), p. 27, note.
 
 336 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 " opposition was vain." " I am most constantly assured that 
 the king conceiveth of no subject he hath better than of 
 the admiral, and great hope there is that the king will use 
 him in matters of greatest trust; for of himself he begin- 
 neth to see the insufficiency of others : some for that they are 
 more addicted to others than to himself ; other, for that they 
 are more Spanish than French. . . . The queen-mother, see- 
 ing her son so well affected toward the admiral, laboreth by 
 all means to cause him to think well of her."* Catherine 
 had assured Teligny and Count Louis that she earnest- 
 ly desired the Treaty of St. Germains to be observed for the 
 repose and welfare of the kingdom; that the king need, 
 ed the admiral's advice; and that it was a sad thing 
 for the princes of the blood to keep aloof from the court. 
 Coligny gave way at last ; and when the Queen of Navarre 
 expostulated with him he replied : " Madame, I confide im- 
 plicitly in the word and honor of my royal master. It is not 
 life to exist in the midst of perpetual alarms ; and I would 
 rather die by one effectual blow, than live a hundred years 
 subject to cowardly apprehensions." He received many 
 warnings, but took no heed of them. 
 
 The admiral left Rochelle escorted by fifty gentlemen, " not 
 because he doubted the king's word, but to be secure against 
 private enemies," and arrived at Blois on the 12th September, 
 where he was received with the most flattering attentions. 
 Being conducted into the audience-chamber he fell on his 
 knees, but Charles raised him up saying, as he embraced him, 
 " Father, we have you at last ; you shall not escape when you 
 wish. This is the happiest day of my life. You are more 
 welcome than any one I have seen these twenty years." The 
 queen-mother kissed him, and took him into Anjou's apart- 
 ments, for the young duke was just then "a little indis- 
 posed." f The admiral was quite charmed with his youthful 
 
 * Digges, p. 122. Walsingham to Burghley, 12th August, 1571. 
 t About this time Catherine wrote to La Mothe-Fcnelon : " L'amiral est 
 ici avec nous, qui ne desire rien plus que d'aider en tout ce qu'il pent . . .
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 337 
 
 sovereign they were so much together, and so often in pri- 
 vate conference, that Catherine grew jealous : " He sees too 
 much of the admiral," she said, " and too little of me." * The 
 chief topic of their conversation was the proposed war in 
 Flanders. It was a maxim with Coligny, that France could 
 not be quieted down except by engaging in a foreign war. 
 When Brantome was at Rochelle he told the gossiping abbe, 
 that if " the Huguenots were not occupied and amused abroad, 
 they would certainly begin their quarrels again at home ; such 
 restless fellows are they, and so fond of plunder." In the Low 
 Countries he saw a field for their activity. Warming at the 
 thoughts of the sufferings which the Protestants of Flanders 
 had endured so long, he expatiated to the king on the heroic 
 patience of William of Orange, and the glorious opportunity 
 then presented of repaying Spain for the evils she had inflict- 
 ed on France. Charles caught fire at the eloquent appeal : the 
 martial ardor of his race broke out in him: "I too. shall win 
 battles in my own name with my own sword." He entered 
 into the scheme with his whole heart, and promised effectual 
 help to the Prince of Orange, to whom he had already restored . 
 his little principality on the banks of the Rhone. Nor did he 
 forget the admiral, whose property had been confiscated : he 
 was reinstated in his seat at the council-board, and received a 
 present of 100,000 crowns, "not so much a wedding-gift as a 
 tribute to the first captain of the age." Charles farther prom- 
 ised to use his influence with the Duke of Savoy to restore 
 the estates of his wife which had been sequestered. He also 
 interceded in behalf of certain Vaudois, who for fighting tinder 
 Coligny had been stripped of their property and expelled 
 from their homes. " I wish to make you a request," wrote 
 the king to the duke, " and it is on a matter that I have very 
 much at heart. At my special prayer and recommendation, 
 
 commc nussi a s'etnployer en toutes choses concernnnt le bien du service da 
 roi comme son fiddle sujet." 27th September, 1571. 
 
 * Fe'nelon to the king, 30th September, 1571, repeating Walsingham's 
 dispatch to his own government. 
 
 Y
 
 338 MASS ACHE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 pray receive these poor creatures into favor again, and restore 
 them to their homes and their goods. The cause is so just 
 and so earnestly desired on my part, that I feel assured you 
 will listen to me. Written at Blois, 28th September, 1571." 
 
 After a brief stay at court the admiral went to Chatillon, 
 where he tried to restore order to his affairs. The king reg- 
 ularly corresponded with him, chiefly on his favorite subject, 
 the war with Spain. Meanwhile the Duke of Guise was in 
 Paris, and the rumor of his proceedings and conversations 
 became so threatening, that Coligny petitioned for a guard of 
 soldiers to protect him. Charles replied with his own hand, 
 that he would be pleased to see the admiral " using all dili- 
 gence in providing for his personal safety," and permitted him 
 to have the guard he needed.* Coligny stayed five weeks at 
 Chatillon, receiving many warnings as to the treachery of the 
 court, but paying no attention to them, making the same 
 answer to all which he had given to his wife before leaving 
 Rochelle : " I must not upon ill-grounded suspicion cause the 
 king to change the good feeling he entertains for us into a 
 hatred which it would be impossible to make him lay aside 
 again." . At the end of October he went to Paris, whither he 
 had been summoned. Catherine took him in her arms and 
 kissed him, and Charles received him as if honoring him 
 above all his subjects.! The object of the visit was to consult 
 about the marriage of Henry of Beam with Margaret of Val- 
 ois, the king's sister. 
 
 While Charles was on a visit to Chantilly, Francis of Mont- 
 morency had suggested that the best means of conciliating the 
 hostile parties would be to unite his sister Margaret to Prince 
 Henry of Bearn.J This union between the two branches of 
 the royal house was no new scheme. The prince, while yet a 
 child, was presented to Henry II., who was so pleased with 
 
 * Mem. of Coligny. Translated by D. D. Scott (12mo. Edinburgh, 1844). 
 t Fcnclon's Dispatches, October, 1571. 
 
 J La maison de Montmorenoy e'taient ceux qui en araient porte' les pre- 
 mieres paroles." Mem. de Marguerite.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 339 
 
 the boy that he asked him if he would be his son. "This is 
 my father," replied the child in the Bearnais patois, pointing 
 to the King of Navarre. " Well then," said the king, " will 
 you be my son-in-law ?" " Oh ! with all my heart," answered 
 the sturdy little fellow, and from that time his marriage with 
 Margaret, a princess four years old, was resolved upon. An- 
 thony of Navarre was delighted, and wrote to his sister the 
 Duchess of Nevers (Margaret of Bourbon), that "this alliance 
 was the thing in the world he most desired to obtain, and 
 which from thenceforward placed both his repose and prosper- 
 ity upon a secure basis." Joan also wrote to an old friend : 
 " To cheer and console you in your sickness, I send you the 
 news . . . that his majesty has been pleased to grant this 
 favor, for which I will not try to conceal the joy and sat- 
 isfaction I feel." This was in 1557 ; and in 1560, soon after 
 the death of Francis II., Catherine wrote to the Queen of Na- 
 varre, pressing her to visit the court, and proposing to connect 
 the families still closer by a marriage between "little Cather- 
 ine " of Beam and Henry Duke of Anjou : " Such an alliance," 
 she said, " will render our union indissoluble." This, however, 
 never came to any thing; but in 1562 we find the project re- 
 vived, when Catherine feared that Anthony of Navarre was 
 slipping out of her control.* 
 
 At one time it had been proposed to give Margaret to Se- 
 bastian of Portugal, the same romantic king who died battling 
 valiantly against the Moors in Africa. But that match failing 
 through the hostility of Philip II., who grossly insulted the 
 French court, an alliance was sought nearer home. Marga- 
 ret tells us how the matter was first broached, and what was 
 her reply : "I begged my mother to remember that I was very 
 Catholic." Joan of Navarre, who had since adopted the Re- 
 formed creed, was not so eager for the marriage as she had 
 once been. Far from being dazzled by the prospect of such a 
 brilliant alliance for the heir of the petty house of Navarre, 
 
 * Chantonnay's letter of 23d May, 1562 ; also hinted at in Auhcspine, 
 p. 844.
 
 340 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 she said : " I would rather descend to be the lowliest woman 
 in France, than sacrifice my son, or my son's soul, to grand- 
 eur."* It would have been well for Prince Henry had the 
 obstacles raised against the marriage proved insurmountable. 
 It was naturally opposed by the Guises; not, as some write, 
 because the duke aspired to Margaret's hand ; for he had been 
 married several months to Catherine of Cleves, the widow of 
 Prince Porcien ; f but because it would strengthen the throne, 
 and make the Huguenot influence predominant. The nuncio 
 and the Spanish embassador also opposed the match ; J but 
 Charles was not to be diverted from his purpose. 
 
 Thus the summer of 1571 passed away: on the one side, 
 Spain, the pope, and the house of Lorraine striving to prevent 
 a reconciliation between the two religious parties ; on the other 
 the " Politicians," with Coligny and the English embassador, 
 trying to bring about two marriages that would, it was hoped, 
 counterbalance the influence of the Catholic powers. Cather- 
 ine was ostentatiously sincere,! and Charles anxious to do 
 what was right, and in his weakness leaning on Coligny, whom 
 he had learned to trust as a child trusts his father. There was 
 much in the admiral to attract the king : he was a man of prob- 
 ity and honor, actuated by no mean or selfish motives, but by 
 the purest desire for the greatness of France. Charles had never 
 possessed such a friend before. What he thought of those 
 about him may be conjectured from his .remarks one day to 
 Teligny : " Tavannes is a good councilor, but jealous of any 
 encroachment upon his fame; Vieilleville loves nothing but 
 good wine ; Cosse is a miser, who would sell every thing for 
 
 * Walsingham to Leicester, 17th February, 1571. 
 
 + He was married 17th September, 1570. 
 
 J Popeliniere, ii. fol. 44 b. 
 
 Charles to De Ferrals, 5th October, 1571. "The most eminent and 
 faithful of my servants agree with me that, in the present condition of my 
 kingdom, this marriage is the best means of ending all troubles." Raumer, 
 i. 277. The correspondence in Digges is to the same effect. 
 
 || Walsingham writes 16th August: "The queen-mother had provided 
 both jewels and wedding." Digges, p. 135.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 341 
 
 ten crowns ; Montmorency is a good man, but then he is always 
 away with his hawks and hounds ; Retz is a Spaniard in heart, 
 and the rest of my court and council are fools. My secretaries 
 are traitors, so that I do not know whom to trust." * The 
 censure is too sweeping ; but the language shows how weary 
 Charles had grown of his old councilors, and how he clung to 
 the new. At another time, conversing with the admiral about 
 the Flemish campaign, he said : " Father, there is another 
 matter which you must carefully heed. The queen, my mother, 
 is always poking her nose everywhere, as you well know, and 
 she must not be told of this enterprise, at least not in detail. 
 She would mar our design." " As you please, Sire ; nevertheless 
 I hold her majesty for so good a mother, that even if she were 
 told all, she would offer no obstacle ; on the contrary, she might 
 naturally aid our design ; while I apprehend many difficulties 
 in hiding the matter." " You are quite wrong," rejoined the 
 king ; " leave the matter to me. My mother is the greatest 
 mischief-maker on the face of the earth." 
 
 If this anecdote were authenticated, it would show that the 
 king and the admiral were actually plotting against the gov- 
 ernment ; for, whatever may have been Coligny's position as 
 private adviser to his sovereign, he was not a minister, although 
 in the council, and held no responsible position. But it is 
 scarcely credible that Catherine, with her influence and means 
 of procuring information, could have been kept in the dark ; 
 and, besides, it is quite clear from her language to the Spanish 
 embassador, that she knew all about the proposed war in 
 Flanders. Nor does she appear at any time to have objected 
 to it. If the English matrimonial alliance was the key of her 
 policy, the war against Spain was an inevitable pendant. 
 Union between France and England in the sixteenth cen- 
 tury necessarily meant armed opposition to the policy of 
 Philip II. 
 
 During the winter an event occurred which has tended very 
 
 * Le Tocsain (ed. 1579), p. 77.
 
 3-i2 . MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 much to complicate this period of history. The king had gone 
 to Bourgueil on the Loire, about ten miles from Saumur, to re- 
 ceive a Protestant deputation. Their chief spokesman, Brique- 
 maut, after complaining of the infringement of the Edict of 
 St. Germains, more by omission than commission, imprudently 
 added that, unless their grievances were remedied, it was to 
 be feared that the Huguenots would take counsel of despair, 
 and once more rush to arms. The king listened calmly and 
 dismissed the deputation graciously; but as soon as they had 
 retired, he burst into a violent passion, and indulged in san- 
 guinary threats. Lignerolles, one of the " mignons " of the 
 Duke of Anjou, drawing near, whispered in his majesty's ear : 
 " Be patient, Sire, a little while longer, and you will have them 
 all in your net." The king was startled to hear another give 
 utterance to his own secret thoughts, and resolved to make 
 away with a man whom he suspected of knowing the particu- 
 lars of a plot which had been qraftily devised to get rid of the 
 admiral and the chief Huguenots at one blow. The authentic- 
 ity of this very circumstantial story is more than doubtful. All 
 we know for certain is, that Lignerolles was murdered, and 
 that the assassins were imprisoned, and would have been pun- 
 ished, had not the great massacre intervened, when they were 
 liberated. Five versions of the story are current, the most 
 probable of all being "Walsingham's, namely, that Lignerolles 
 was an instrument employed by the Guise faction to prevent 
 the English marriage.* He represents the death " as no small 
 furtherance to the cause." But why was he murdered ? Per- 
 haps the f ollowing passage from a letter written by the queen- 
 mother to the French embassador in England may supply an 
 answer: " We strongly suspect Villequier, Lignerolles, or Sar- 
 
 * ".Linerolles, who by the house of Guise and the rest of the Spanish fac- 
 tion was made an instrument to dissuade his master . . ." (8th December, 
 1571 .) " Linerolles, the chief dissuader of the marriage." 31st December. 
 1571, in Digges. For another account see Freer's Henry III. i. p. 72. 
 Sorbin (Le vray Resvcille-lUatin) says he was killed at Bourgueil, not at 
 Blois.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. . 343 
 
 ret ; and it is possible that all three may be the authors of these 
 fancies [Anjou's refusal to marry Elizabeth] ; if I were sure of 
 it, I give you my word they should repent it." 
 
 If this foul murder be supposed to tell against the king, the 
 affair of the Gastine Cross should be taken as a proof of his 
 desire to conciliate his Protestant subjects. In the Rue St. 
 Denis at Paris there lived a wealthy tradesman, Philip Gastine 
 by name, who with his son Richard was accused and hanged 
 for heresy and lending money to the rebels ; another son was 
 sentenced to the galleys for life ; and the third banished (30th 
 June, 1569). His house was pulled down, and in its place was 
 erected a huge cross, with an inscription to the effect, that they 
 had suffered " principally because they had celebrated the Lord's 
 Supper in that place." According to the thirty-second article * 
 of the Third Edict of Pacification, this cross was to be destroy- 
 ed. The king gave the necessary orders, and Claude Marcel, 
 provost of the merchants, fearing opposition, began to pull it 
 down one dark night in December. He was interrupted by 
 the populace, who paraded the city calling to arms. " The 
 common people," said "Walsingham, " ease their stomachs only 
 by uttering certain seditious words." They went however be- 
 yond words, for there was a fierce riot, during which the mob 
 burned two. houses and killed a "sermoner." The provost 
 seems to have been rather faint-hearted in the matter, and the 
 parliament actually wrote to remonstrate with the king for 
 keeping his promise. Charles, who was then at Amboise, re- 
 turned a very sharp answer (15th December, 1571): "I have 
 received your remonstrance, which I will always listen to gra- 
 ciously so long as you show me due obedience. But seeing 
 how you have behaved since my accession, and that you im- 
 agine I will suffer my orders to be despised, I will let you know 
 that there never was a king more determined to be obeyed 
 than I am." f The captain of the watch was sent to Amboise 
 
 * " Toutes marques, vestiges, et monumcns dcs dites executions, etc. . . . 
 ordonnons le tout estre oste ct efface^." 
 tFelibien, ii. p. 1112.
 
 344 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 to explain : he found the king very excited. " I am thoroughly 
 vexed," said Charles, " that the cross has not been pulled down 
 or removed. I will have no delay : it is time it were down 
 and over.* If you catch any rioter, hang him up at once with 
 a label of Seditieux round his neck." The parliament apolo- 
 gized, and said very falsely that they had had nothing to do 
 with the riots. On the night of the 19th December the cross 
 was taken down and re-erected in the cemetery of the Inno- 
 cents ; f but the people were in such a mutinous state, and it 
 was so difficult to keep the peace, that, on the 21st, the Duke 
 of Montmorency hurried to Paris with a strong force of sol- 
 diers to put down the rioters. Some were killed, many ran 
 away, and the mob was cowed at last by the exemplary punish- 
 ment of a coster-monger, who was hanged from the window of 
 a house he had just plundered. 
 
 A report from the Provost of the Trades to the king shows 
 the condition of the capital in the winter of 1571: "After 
 curfew, there is much stabbing in the streets. A great num- 
 ber of dead bodies have been fished up at St. Cloud, or found 
 on the river-bank near Chaillot. ... In consequence of this 
 hugonotry, trade is almost dead, manufacturers are frightened 
 away by our divisions, and cross the mountains to settle in 
 Italy. The Catholics want to have an end of it. ... Would 
 your majesty but reflect; your crown is endangered, Paris 
 alone can save it." But Charles knew the Parisians well, 
 and desired to have his crown upheld by trustier supporters 
 than the unruly populace of the capital. 
 
 Before the end of the year, Coligny paid another visit to 
 Blois, when the war in Flanders and the marriage of the 
 Prince of Beam became once more the chief subjects of de- 
 liberation. It is not necessary to trace the proceedings day 
 by day. The admiral's arguments were very cogent, but the 
 
 * There is a letter from Charles to Marshal Cossd (6th November, 1571) : 
 " Jeveux que vous fassiez oter la pyramide, ct que vous mefassiez obeir, car 
 le temps est venu qu'il le faut faire." Soldan, ii. p. 423. 
 
 t It stood here until destroyed in the Kevolution.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 345 
 
 most pressing matter was the marriage. On this subject Co- 
 ligny wrote to the Queen of Navarre, praying her not to op- 
 pose a union wherein the Reformed would have the advan- 
 tage. " It will be," he said, " a seal of friendship with the 
 king ; and the greatest mistake you can fall into will be to 
 show suspicion." The king too was very earnest in the mat- 
 ter. " I have made up my mind," he said to one of Jqan's 
 agents, " to give my sister to my good brother Henry ; for by 
 this means I hope to marry the two religions." "When it was 
 again objected that the proposal could hardly be regarded as 
 sincere, so long as the Guises continued about the court: 
 "They are my subjects," Charles replied, "and I will make 
 them conform to my behests." Catherine wrote to the Queen 
 of Navarre : " I pray you gratify the extreme desire we have 
 to see you among us. You will be loved and honored as you 
 deserve to be." Biron was the bearer of this letter, and Joan 
 gave way at last. In the month of February she started for 
 Blois, and, traveling slowly, reached that city early in March.* 
 The king gave her a hearty welcome, calling her " his dear 
 good aunt, his best beloved, his darling," and so on, just as he 
 had been wont to do in earlier days. He kept by her side, 
 and was so demonstrative in his marks of affection, that, ac- 
 cording to the gossiping chronicler, " every one was astonish- 
 ed." In the evening, after Joan had retired, Charles turned 
 to Catherine laughing, and said : " Now, mother, confess that 
 I play my little part well." ""Yes, you play it well enough, 
 but you must keep it up." " Trust me for that," said the 
 king ; " you shall see how I will lead them on."f Many of 
 these stories are nothing but idle street gossip, and some of 
 
 * Anquetil, Peyrat, and others say May, but Sir Thomas Smith, writing 
 from Blois, 3d March, 1572, says: "This day the Queen of Navarre is 
 looked for ;" and Walsingham (29th March) reports an interview with her 
 at Blois. Charles writes to Fe'nelon (8th March) that the Queen of Navarre 
 arrived eight or nine days ago. 
 
 t L'Estoile (Journ. Henri III.') and Sully both give the same story, evi- 
 dently from common gossip.
 
 346 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 them, in which we may include the one before us, were in- 
 vented in after years to support the theory of a long-premed- 
 itated plot. But the words, even if accurately reported, will 
 hardly bear such a formidable superstructure : they may refer 
 to the marriage, which was yet unsettled, as well as to the 
 projected massacre. Farther, if Charles compassed the death 
 of Lignerolles because the wretched man was supposed to 
 have become master of the king's secret, would Charles (with 
 his presumed craft and reticence) have spoken thus openly 
 of what he desired to keep in utter obscurity ? * 
 
 Never had the little town of Blois been more gay than it 
 was in the spring of 1572. Banquets, balls, and fetes follow- 
 ed each other in rapid succession, much to the discomfort of 
 Joan, whose principles and sober taste did '. not harmonize 
 with such gayeties. The king, who was delighted at the 
 share his young queen took in these amusements, was among 
 the liveliest of the court, and was seen to the best advan- 
 tage. 
 
 If the marriage of Henry and Margaret was part of the 
 scheme by which the Huguenots were to be lured to their de- 
 struction, there was very little probability in March, 1572, that 
 it would ever be accomplished. Even the mere rumor of it 
 had aroused all the antagonism of Spain and Rome ; but now 
 that it appeared certain, those powers tried every means to 
 thwart it. The pope ordered his nephew, then legate at the 
 court of Portugal, to hasten to France and stop the marriage. 
 Alessandrino actually reached Blois before the Queen of Na- 
 varre, having rudely passed her on the road. The particulars 
 of his interviews with Charles are given by several contem- 
 porary writers, but all are manifestly derived from the same 
 source. The cardinal, one of the most accomplished and elo- 
 quent men of his day, pressed the king to give Margaret to 
 
 * The whole tenor of Charles's letter to Fe'nelon (8th March, 1572) is in 
 contradiction to the story given in the text. He says : " My aunt shows a 
 good disposition to conclude the marriage. . . . There is a very good ap- 
 pearance of it."
 
 MASSACRE or ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 347 
 
 the King of Portugal, as had been once proposed, and enter 
 into the holy alliance then forming against the Turks. The 
 connection between these proposals is not very clear ; but Ales- 
 sandrino probably hoped that the excitement of war, which 
 might bring increase of territory to France, would divert 
 Charles from subjects nearer home. " It would be ruinous 
 to your realm and to the Catholic Church," urged the nuncio, 
 "to form any alliance with the Huguenots." 
 
 At the close of one of these interviews, when Alessandrino 
 had been more than usually pressing, Charles took him by 
 the hand : " What you say is very good, and I thank you and 
 the pope for it. If I had any other means of being revenged 
 upon my enemies, I would not go on with this marriage ; but 
 I have not." When Alessandrino heard of the August mas- 
 sacre, he exclaimed : " This, then, is what the King of France 
 was preparing. God be praised, he has kept his promise." * 
 At the close of the interview, Charles drew a valuable ring 
 from his finger, and pressed the nuncio to accept it, as a 
 pledge of his good faith and obedience to the holy see. He 
 declined, saying, with a bitterness of manner that greatly dis- 
 pleased the king : " The most precious of your majesty's jew- 
 els are but mud in the eyes of the faithful, since your zeal for 
 the Catholic religion is so cold."f Sir Thomas Smith, who 
 was at Blois, wrote to Burghley : "The foolish cardinal went 
 away as wise as he came : he neither brake the marriage with 
 Xavarre, nor got no dimes, . . . and the foolishest part of all 
 
 * Lettres du Card. d"0ssat (fol. Paris, 1G41), Lcttrc 185, p. 42G. The 
 Edinburgh reviewer (June, 182G) pressed this very unfairly against Dr. Lin- 
 gard. The "enemies" might have been Spain. Catena, who had been 
 secretary to the cardinal, speaks out more distinctly, but his report will not 
 bear examination : " lovoglio pnnir questi malvaggi e fclloni, facendogli 
 tagliar tutti a pezzi, o non esser re, perdendo affatto la corona." Vita del 
 Papa Pio V. p. 196 (Roma, 1G47). 
 
 t Davila, liv. v. ; Capilupi : Lo Stratarjcma ; and De Thou give this story, 
 but the latter does not believe it. Ant. Gabut (Vita Pii V.~) gives the in- 
 scription on the ring which Charles sent to Alessandrino after the death of 
 Pius V. : "Non minus haec solida est pietas, ne solvi." In the Mem. Etat 
 de France, the legate "s'en allait bien content." I. 150.
 
 348 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 .his going away, he refused a diamond which the king offered 
 him of 600 crowns." * 
 
 , There are serious objections to this stpry especially to 
 Catena's version of it which is in contradiction to docu- 
 ments above all suspicion. One of these is a letter from 
 Charles to his embassador at Rome, with instructions about 
 the dispensation. On the 31st July he recapitulates to De 
 Ferrails the four conditions on which the pope is willing to 
 grant the said dispensation, and says that Henry will never 
 concede them.f He then argues that the marriage will be 
 the best means of converting the prince, and hopes the pope 
 " will not risk every thing by holding the cord too tight in mat- 
 ters which belong much more to state policy than to religious 
 scruples." He threatens that he will do without a dispensa- 
 tion, if he should be driven to consult on the best means of 
 tranquilizing his kingdom and proceeding to the said mar- 
 riage. - In a postscript the king adds, that he has just seen 
 Salviati, the papal nuncio, to whom he had communicated the 
 substance of the dispatch, and begged him to write to the 
 pope to the same effect. Did Salviati write as requested ? 
 He did, and all his correspondence shows that up to the very 
 day of the massacre he was entirely ignorant of any treach- 
 ery being contemplated. On the very day of the massacre 
 the king gave instructions to Beauville, who was going to 
 Rome, to the effect that the marriage was justifiable on the 
 ground that it would bind the Huguenots to the crown, and 
 he also wrote to De Ferrails on the same date, that the mar- 
 riage was necessary, and therefore it had been solemnized 
 without waiting for the dispensation, " to the great satisfac- 
 tion of all his subjects." That no allusion is made to a plot 
 in these dispatches is proof 9 that none such existed. J We 
 must not, therefore, lay too great stress upon Ossatfs letter, 
 
 * Digges, 3d March, 1572, p. 193. 
 
 t " II cst du tout impossible de 1'y disposer si chandement." L. Paris ; 
 Cab. flist. ii. p. 231. 
 t Soldan treats it as a fable, note 142.
 
 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 349 
 
 which, after all, only repeats hearsay.* The strongest evi- 
 dence in favor of Alessandrino's story is found in the myste- 
 rious ending of a letter in which he alludes to matters that 
 
 O 
 
 had passed between him and Charles, and that he had reserved 
 for the pope's ear alone.f The veil of this mystery if there 
 really was any mystery has never been uplifted. 
 
 Joan's arrival at Blois did not accelerate the negotiations 
 for the marriage so much as had been anticipated. The queen- 
 mother appeared of late to have grown indifferent, if not 
 averse, to the proposed union, and every possible obstacle was 
 thrown in the way. Her inventive faculties were severely 
 tested by the good faith of the Queen of Navarre.J She 
 could have managed a diplomatist of her own stamp, but hon- 
 esty was a weapon she did not understand. " Certes," says 
 an old writer, " her majesty's adulterations of truth were of 
 the most amazing extent and description." Joan, who heart- 
 ily disliked Catherine, at last refused to treat with her, and 
 the negotiations were almost broken off, when it was agreed 
 to appoint three commissioners on each side, by whom the 
 final arrangements should be made. Margaret whose " Me- 
 moirs " must be read with extreme caution interested herself 
 but little in the marriage. 
 
 In those days young maidens, whether of high or low de- 
 gree, had little voice in the selection of a husband. Of her 
 proposed daughter-in-law, Joan writes thus to her son on the 
 8th March : "Madame is handsome, graceful, and discreet, but 
 she has been brought up in the midst of the most vicious and 
 
 * Mackintosh : Hist. England, iii. Appendix D. Ranmer, i. p. 281. Aft- 
 er a description of the admiral's murder and the massacre, the king " hopes 
 that now the holy father will make no more difficulties about the dispensa- 
 tion." 
 
 t "Con alcuni particolari che io porto, de' quali raggnagliero N. S a 
 bocca, posso dire di non partirmi aft'atto male expedite. " Letter to Rusti- 
 cucci (6th March, 1572), in letters del Sr. Ch. Akssandrino, quoted by 
 Ranke, Franz. Gesch. bk. iv. ch. 3. 
 
 J Her description of Catherine's facility of lying is short and graphic : 
 " Eile me le renie comme beau meurtre et me rit au ncz."
 
 350 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 corrupt court that can be imagined. Your cousin [afterward 
 wife of Prince Henry of Conde] is so changed by it, that 
 there is no appearance of religion in her save thus far, that 
 she does not go to mass; but as to the rest of her mode of 
 living, except idolatry, she does the same as the Papists, and 
 my sister [the Princess of Conde] still worse." In a preg- 
 nant phrase she describes the corrupt nature of court life : 
 " It is not the men here who entice the women, but the wom- 
 en who entice the men." To this Catherine and her " flying 
 squadron" of gay damsels had brought the court. The Queen 
 of Navarre was a rigid Calvinist, and her opinions on court 
 amusements and pleasures were probably rather austere. At 
 another time she writes to Henry: "Madam Margaret has 
 paid me every honor and welcome in her power to bestow, 
 and frankly owned to me the agreeable ideas she has formed 
 of you. [They had not seen each other since the meeting at 
 Bayonne.] With her beauty and wit, she excites great influ- 
 ence over the queen-mother and the king." * 
 
 The difference of religion was long an almost insuperable 
 obstacle. Catherine pretended scruples of conscience on be- 
 half of her daughter ; and Joan of Navarre, who was really 
 anxious on the matter, hesitated so much, that up to the 29th 
 March the marriage continued doubtful. " I have now the 
 wolf by the ears," said the Queen of Navarre, " for in con- 
 cluding or not concluding the marriage, I see danger every 
 way." " But," adds the English embassador, " I do not think 
 assuredly that hardly any cause will make them break so 
 many necessary causes there are why the same should pro- 
 ceed." f The Huguenot ministers, like unpractical divines as 
 they were, looked more coldly upon the projected union than 
 the nobility and gentry, who valued it as a great stroke of 
 policy. There were some even of these who foreboded noth- 
 ing but evil. Rosny, father of the illustrious Sully, refused to 
 
 * Baschet, p. 488. 
 
 t Walsingham to Burghley, 29th March, 1572; Diggcs.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 351 
 
 take any part in the ceremony, declaring that " the wedding- 
 favors would be crimson." His party stoutly advocated a 
 marriage with Elizabeth of England. What would have been 
 the fortunes of the two countries had they been thus united ? 
 At length ah 1 the negotiations were ended, the settlements 
 drawn up, and the contract signed by the plenipotentiaries on 
 each side (llth April, 1572). A few days later Charles ex- 
 pressed to La Mothe-Fenelon his satisfaction at the happy 
 conclusion of the tedious business, adding that " if the queen 
 had been a little more strengthened against those ailments, 
 which are usual to women in her condition, the wedding-day 
 would have been already fixed. We shah 1 depart hence 
 [Blois ?] to go toward Paris and Fontainebleau, where my wife 
 will lie in." The only obstacle now was the dispensation, 
 which Pius V. refused to grant : " I would rather lose my 
 head than grant a marriage dispensation to a heretic." * 
 Charles determined to proceed in spite of the pope : " If he 
 tries it on too far, I will take Margaret by the hand and see 
 her married in open conventicle." f His written answer to 
 Pius V. was to the same effect, but in more courtly strain. 
 He expressed his sincere love for the Catholic Church, but 
 urged that the country and the exchequer were exhausted by 
 civil war. As for the marriage and the heresy, he continued : 
 "Mild remedies are usually more efficacious than sharp ones 
 in curing this disease, especially in the minds of princes. I 
 am persuaded that Henry will not only become all that you 
 can wish him, but will some day be a great ornament and 
 help to the Church. ... If he who is now the chief of the 
 wanderers should be brought back to the true fold, how great 
 the advantage !" Charles then proceeded to indulge in that 
 ambiguous language which has^made this period of history 
 so difficult to understand : " I confess that I am under neces- 
 
 * " Capitis sui jactnrnm facturura csse " Gabut : Vita Pli V. in Acta 
 Sancionim (Mali), I. cap. v. 240 (fol. Antverp. 1580). 
 
 t Journal de L'Esloile, p. 73. The words are rather different in the Re- 
 veille-Matin, but the sense is the same.
 
 352 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 sity, and have had to put up with many disagreeable things ; 
 but I swear I would rather imperil my kingdom than leave 
 the outrages against God unpunished. But what my designs 
 are can not yet be told."* To the Cardinal of Lorraine, then 
 in Rome, he wrote that whether the pope's answer was favor- 
 able or not, he should go on with the marriage.f To his 
 friends he repeated his assurance that he married his sister 
 not only to the Prince of Beam but to the whole Protestant 
 party : " It will be the strongest bond between my subjects," 
 he said, " and a sure evidence of my good-will toward those 
 of the religion." It was Joan's desire that the wedding 
 should be celebrated at Blois, on account of the fanatical tem- 
 per of the inhabitants of the metropolis ; but as Charles ob- 
 jected with reason to a solemn state ceremony being perform- 
 ed anywhere but in the capital, the Queen of Navarre gave 
 way. It is a curious coincidence that the Parisians should 
 have been equally adverse to the celebration of the marriage 
 within their walls. " They feared," says Claude Haton, " that 
 they would be robbed and despoiled in their own houses by 
 the seditious Huguenots." \ 
 
 * Grabut, Vita PH V. cap. v. 244. If Charles was not misleading the 
 pope, these " designs" may have been the Flemish war. 
 t Bouille' : Hist. Guise, ii. 492. 
 J Claude Haton : Mem. ii. p. 663.
 
 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 353 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 THE MARKIAGE AISTD THE PLOT. 
 
 [August, 1572.] 
 
 Proposed German and English Alliances Anjou's Refusal Treaty with 
 England Capture of Mons Defeat of Genlis Walsingham's Dispatches 
 War-Excitement Deliberations in Council Charles at Montpipeau 
 Catherine follows him Her tears Increasing influence of Coligny His 
 Death resolved on Joan of Navarre in Paris Her sudden Death Dis- 
 trust and Warnings Coligny's firmness Plot and Counterplot Henry 
 of Navarre enters Paris The Wedding Masque at the Hotel Bonrbon 
 The Admiral's last Letter Plot to Assassinate him The Duchess of 
 Nemours Maurevel sent for. 
 
 THE Treaty of St. Germains was a serious blow to Span- 
 ish influence in France. We have seen that peace had not 
 only been concluded in opposition to the remonstrances of 
 Philip II., but that monarch had experienced several slights 
 from his brother-in-law which even so cold-blooded a man 
 must have felt deeply. In proportion, too, as the loyalty and 
 worth of Coligny became known, the distance between the two 
 courts grew wider. The " Politicians " took advantage of this 
 change, and becoming daily more convinced of the necessity 
 of war with Spain, tried to strengthen France by foreign alli- 
 ances. Their choice was not very great. Rome would never 
 aid a power that went to war with Spain to support heresy 
 in Flanders. The Emperor of Germany would remain neu- 
 tral, for by reserving his forces he would be able to interfere 
 effectually between the combatants, when exhausted or tired 
 of war. The Catholic States of Northern Italy would take 
 part with Spain and threaten France on the Alpine frontier ; 
 and Switzerland would sell her sword to either party. There 
 only remained England and the Protestant States of Germany, 
 
 Z
 
 354 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 with whose help France might safely venture to attack the 
 power of Spain. That monarchy was held to be the greatest 
 in the world : it was not indeed so great as it appeared to 
 be, for it was rapidly declining, but the halo of its former glo- 
 ry still shone round it. 
 
 The negotiations with Germany were so mismanaged that 
 they came to nothing. Those with England had assumed, as 
 we have seen, the form of proposals for a matrimonial alliance 
 between Elizabeth and the Duke of Anjou. Catherine, who 
 believed in an old prophecy that all her sons should be kings, 
 was very earnest in the matter.* The Huguenots, who are 
 wrongly supposed to have originated the plan, also felt anx- 
 ious, and the correspondence of the English agents at the court 
 of France is full of their hopes and fears. They saw that 
 such a union of the two crowns would strengthen them, and 
 help to preserve the fruits of their past struggles ; while they 
 dreaded a failure, which would discredit the Moderate party 
 and bring back the Guises, and perhaps plunge them again 
 into all the miseries of civil strife from which they had so 
 recently escaped. The negotiations extended over many 
 months. It is doubtful whether Elizabeth was at any time 
 sincere ; but it is certain that as one objection after another 
 was removed, and as she appeared to be more inclined to the 
 match, Anjou grew cooler, professed a great horror of heresy, 
 and urged that his conscience would not allow him to share the 
 crown of the Queen of England. Still, as he did not absolutely 
 refuse the match, the English ministers were frightened lest 
 Elizabeth should anticipate him, and ruin every thing by de- 
 claring her preference for a celibate life. A refusal from her 
 would ruin the Huguenot hopes. Elizabeth would probably 
 have spoken out, had not the various intrigues of which Mary 
 Stuart was the prime mover kept her silent and cautious. She 
 
 * This is clear from her despairing language to Fe'nelon : " Vous etcs 
 sur le point de perdre un tel roynume et grandeur pour mes enfans . . . 
 nous pourrions avoir ce roynume entre les mains d'un de nos enfans." 
 2J February, 1571, Corresp. diplom. Paris, 1840-41, cd. by Teulet.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 355 
 
 would dally with France so long as there was any danger from 
 Spain. But Anjou, who was never in want of evil advisers, 
 listened to the seductions of the Spanish court, and, allured by 
 a large bribe from the pope,* refused tAvice refused to wed 
 a mature maiden of thirty-eight. The queen-mother was con- 
 founded, and with reason ; for the suspicions of Spain had been 
 aroused, and France unaided could not hope, in its state of ex- 
 haustion, to withstand a well-directed attack. There was dan- 
 ger, too, on the other side, for Elizabeth was touchy and sus- 
 ceptible ; and though she might have been insincere through- 
 out, her feminine vanity might be so wounded that she would 
 not hesitate to avenge it by taking part with Spain. The 
 Moderate party were in despair ; but fortunately the negotia- 
 tions were in the hands of prudent men. Walsingham in 
 France and La Mothe-Fenelon in England felt all the impor- 
 tance of the crisis, and after some difficulty succeeded in arrang- 
 ing a defensive treaty between the two countries (29th March, 
 1572). Though manifestly directed against Spain, it was ex- 
 pressed in general terms, so as not to wound the susceptibili- 
 ties of the French Catholics.f Each promised to aid the 
 other with 6000 infantry and six ships of war. The English 
 statesmen were perhaps more anxious about this treaty than 
 their French colleagues ; for Mary Stuart, now a prisoner in 
 England, was actively engaged in a complication of intrigues 
 with Spain,J the success of any of which would have endan- 
 gered the cause of Protestantism. Montmorency, " a lover of 
 
 * The nuncio promised him 100,000 crowns. Walsingham to Cecil, 8th 
 February, 1572, in Wright's Elizabeth, p. 386. See also letter of 17th Feb- 
 ruary, m Digges, p. 43. 
 
 t Charles, writing to Fenelon (19th Jan. 1572), mentions a discussion 
 about inserting the words lt of attacks under pretext of religion," and what 
 Walsingham had said on the matter about a general Protestant Confedera- 
 tion. See Digges, pp. 1G9-17:5 
 
 J There is abundant evidence in the Fenelon correspondence. On the 
 20th March, 1572, Charles writes that Queen Mary "had exhorted the 
 Duke of Alva to hasten to send ships to Scotland to seize her son," and 
 that " she would commit herself to the King of Spain." He bids Fe'nelon 
 tell her to write no more such ciphers, and " de se de'partir de telles pratiques
 
 356 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 England as much as any man in France," was sent over to re- 
 ceive the ratification, and if he saw fit opportunity to make 
 a formal proposal of the Duke of Alenyon to Queen Elizabeth.* 
 The marshal or rather the Moderate party of which he was 
 leader felt convinced that some foreign support was more 
 necessary than ever to keep the Catholic reactionists in check, 
 and to neutralize the efforts of Spain to rekindle the civil wars 
 now so happily ended. Spain was uneasy and wavering. St. 
 Goar writes from Madrid (22d June, 1572) : "I believe that 
 Philip would fain avoid a rupture;" and again (1st July): 
 " The king assures me he would willingly preserve peace, but 
 that he has great cause to fear an attack from France." 
 Charles also told St. Goar, in a letter dated 25th June, that 
 " if he were only sure they would undertake nothing against 
 him, he would not mix himself up with foreign transac- 
 tions.'^ 
 
 As soon as the important matters of the Navarre marriage 
 and the English treaty were concluded, Charles left Touraine 
 (May 5th), and proceeded by way of Fontainebleau to Paris, 
 and thence to St. Maur. The admiral attended him more as 
 a friend than as one of the great officers of state. The 
 Guises had left the court almost in despair. If any credit 
 can be given to an intercepted dispatch of the 28th January 
 from the Countess of Northumberland, the duke had paid a 
 long secret visit to Alva.J This was denied by Catherine, 
 but may have been true, nevertheless. Although this visit 
 may have had more to do with the affairs of Mary Stuart, we 
 may be sure that the state of France and the Anjou marriage 
 
 ct mene'es." Walsingham's correspondence shows that Spain, Guise, the 
 pope, and others were conspiring to prevent Elizabeth from helping Flan- 
 ders by an invasion of Ireland, " to which the king was not privy." Digges, 
 p. 30 (Letter of 8th February), .p. 38. 
 
 * Charles to Fenelon, 20th March, 1572 : " We are in great hope of the 
 marriage (of Alen9on). . . . If it be accomplished, I shall not be ungrate- 
 ful." 
 
 t Raumer, i. 19G. 
 
 $ Simancas Archives. Paris : Cab Hist. iii. C7.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 357 
 
 were not forgotten. It is not clear when the Guises fell into 
 disgrace, but their position at court in the spring of 1572 is ac- 
 curately discussed in a letter from Alva to Philip II., who had 
 written advising him to keep up friendly relations with the 
 duke and the cardinal. The general replied that he had 
 always seen the importance of doing so : " But at this time 
 there are two things to be considered, namely, that none of 
 the family have any share in the management of public busi- 
 ness, except the Cardinal of Lorraine ; and he, when in favor, 
 is insolent and forgets every body, and when in disgrace, is 
 good for nothing." Then, as if to brand the treason of the 
 churchman, and show the unfriendly nature of the relations 
 between the courts of Paris and Madrid, Alva continues : 
 " He has warned me, through Fray Garcia de Ribeira, to be 
 on my guard, as he foresees trouble in France, and believes 
 that the fleet assembling at Rochelle is intended to operate 
 against the Low Countries." * "When the Duke of Guise 
 and Coligny were at Paris in May, the former was forbidden 
 to undertake any thing against the Chatillons, to which he re- 
 plied, that if the admiral had any thing to complain of, he 
 was ready to meet him at any time in single combat, f The 
 king, finding the duke (whom he called " un mauvais gar9on ") 
 so implacable, required of him a complete and formal denial 
 of every project of outrage against Coligny, which he gave, 
 though with reluctance (12th May, 15*72). There is another 
 story that the king did not press Duke Henry to be recon- 
 ciled, having already had proof of his impracticable charac- 
 ter ; but to Aumale, his brother, who seemed more tracta- 
 ole, he said : " Have a little patience, and you will soon see 
 a pretty game."J Were the story true, it would not nec- 
 essarily imply the existence of a plot to get rid of the 
 Huguenots. 
 The deliberations about the Flemish war now became more 
 
 * Gachard: Bull. Acad. Brux. xvi. 1849 (pte. I), 
 f Simancns Archives. Paris : Cab. Hist. iii. 67. 
 J " Quclque bon jeu." Bouille.
 
 358 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 frequent than ever. The time was opportune for the projected 
 invasion. In Flanders the first part of the year had been dis- 
 tinguished by a series of triumphs. " With one fierce bound 
 of enthusiasm," says the eloquent historian of the Dutch Re- 
 public, " the nation shook off its chain." Alva was ill, and 
 anxiously awaiting his successor. The hour was approaching 
 when Charles IX. would feel it safe as well as politic to 
 throw off all disguise. " When you have captured twoiof 
 the frontier cities, the king will once more take council about 
 the war," said Tavannes to Count Louis ; and before the end 
 of May, Mons and Valenciennes were in his hands. With the 
 connivance of the government, Louis had got together a number 
 of Huguenot gentlemen, including Genlis and La Noue, be- 
 sides some 1500 soldiers, and with these he surprised Mons. 
 He was soon after strongly reinforced by nearly 5000 French 
 troops. Alva had no doubt whence the blow came, and 
 threatening to repay Catherine in her own coin, immediately 
 prepared to recover the town. Unless he were reinforced, 
 Count Louis had no hope of resisting with success, and ac- 
 cordingly Genlis was dispatched to France to procure more 
 troops. The admiral strongly advised Charles to back up 
 the count with a large force ; but the king was still unwilling 
 to declare himself openly, though he had committed himself al- 
 most beyond recall. " You would be astounded," writes Albor- 
 nez to Secretary Cayas, " could you see a letter in my hands 
 written by the King of France to Prince Louis." It was 
 dated the 27th April, 1572, and in it Charles expressed his 
 determination to do ah 1 in his power " to extricate the Low 
 Countries from the oppression under which they groaned." * 
 
 In this juncture the Huguenot champion, who was " daily 
 at court and very well used by the king and his brothers,"f 
 laid before his royal master a memoir drawn up by the cele- 
 brated Duplessis-Mornay, in which he argued that a foreign 
 
 * Gacharcl : Corresp. de Philippe IT. 4to. Bruxelles, 1848, t. ii. p. 269. 
 t Ellis's Letters, p. 10 ; sec also pp. 16 and 18.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 359 
 
 war was necessary to preserve internal peace. " The French- 
 man," he says, " who has once had a taste of war will often, 
 from rneYe'gaiete de coeur, or from want of some other enemy, 
 fight his own countryman and friend. The Spaniard," he 
 continued, "is weak from the dispersion of his forces, and 
 you have England on your side, who formerly used to take 
 part in every quarrel against us. You will acquire a province 
 superior to any in France by the fertility of its soil, the beau- 
 ty of its cities, and the wealth of its inhabitants. The Ger- 
 mans will fear you, your own people will be enriched by com- 
 merce, and you, Sire, will reap immortal honor from the con- 
 quest." * The motives are not very noble, but they were ad- 
 mirably adapted to Charles's temper : a higher morality would 
 have fallen dead upon his ear. Still he hesitated to declare 
 himself, leaning toward Coligny at one moment, and toward 
 the Catholic party at the next. Meanwhile Genlis had suc- 
 ceeded in collecting a number of volunteers, and was making 
 his way toward Mons, with about 4000 men,f when he was 
 met and defeated by a Spanish force under Don Frederick of 
 Toledo (19th July, 1572). Twelve hundred of .the French 
 were left upon the field, and a much larger number were 
 butchered by the peasantry as they were seeking to escape. 
 Tavannes, a trustworthy authority on such a point, says that 
 Don Frederick had been treacherously informed of the road 
 Genlis would take with his troops. 
 
 The news of this terrible overthrow caused an extraor- 
 dinary agitation at court. Some fancied in their panic that 
 the Spaniard was already at the gates of Paris ; while the 
 outspoken admiral declared that the catastrophe lay at the 
 doors of those who had dissuaded the king from declaring 
 himself. The government everywhere ostentatiously protest- 
 ed at Rome, Vienna, Brussels, and Madrid that they de- 
 sired peace, and were not privy to the attack on Mons or the 
 
 * Mem. de Duplessis-Momay, Paris, 1824. 
 
 t Walsingham to Burghley, 18th July, 1572. Grotius, Ann. p. 37, says 
 5000 foot and 500 horse.
 
 360 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 advance of Genlis ; indeed Mondoucet congratulated Alva on 
 his success over the invaders, while St. Goar assured Philip 
 that his master saw with regret his vassals joining the rebels 
 in the Low Countries. Neither Alva nor Philip believed this, 
 but were determined to give no cause for a rupture of friend- 
 ly relations.* And hence it was that when the Spanish army 
 captured some sixty Frenchmen who tried to enter Mons, 
 Alva only hanged a part, taking the others to Ruppelmonde 
 to be drowned secretly in the river. 
 
 Walsingham's correspondence reflects minutely the state 
 of feeling among the Huguenots at this moment. " Such of 
 the religion as before slept in security," he writes to Burgh- 
 'ley on the 26th July, "begin now to awake and to see their 
 danger, and do therefore conclude, that unless this enterprise 
 in the Low Countries have good success, their cause groweth 
 desperate. They have therefore of late sent to the king, who 
 is absent from home, to show him that if the Prince of Or- 
 ange quail, it shall not lie in him [Charles] to maintain him 
 in his protection by virtue of his edict ; they desire him, there- 
 fore, out of hand, to resolve upon something that may be of 
 assistance, offering themselves to employ therein their lives, 
 lands, and goods." "Writing the same day to the Earl of Lei- 
 cester, the embassador says: "Those of the religion have 
 made demonstration to the king that his [Orange's] enter- 
 prise lacking good success, it shall not then lie in his power 
 to maintain his edict ;" apparently meaning, that if the Flem- 
 ish rebels were subdued, Spain would again be so formidable 
 that it would be dangerous to tolerate the Huguenots in defi- 
 ance of Philip II. Walsingham then adds that the Reformed 
 party " desire him to weigh well, whether it were better to 
 have foreign war with advantage, or inward war to the ruin 
 of himself and his estate." This was one of those unfortu- 
 nate passages which Catherine afterward employed with so 
 much effect to terrify Charles into the August massacre. 
 
 * Alvn's letters of 13th and 21st June, and 18th July.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 361 
 
 The meaning of the words is plain enough, but an unscrupu- 
 lous advocate would easily convert them into a threat of re- 
 bellion against the king's authority. 
 
 As soon as the French had recovered from the first shock 
 caused by the news of Genlis's defeat, they began to vapor 
 and talk of revenge ; and their hostile feelings were still far- 
 ther exasperated by the report of certain contemptuous ex- 
 pressions ascribed to Alva. Every thing betokened an ap- 
 proaching rupture between France and Spain, and ere long 
 the rumors of war became so loud that the Venetian Senate 
 hastily dispatched an embassador with authority to mediate 
 between the angry governments.* Michieli writes in July 
 to his superiors of volunteer expeditions of horse and foot 
 setting off daily : " For four or five days war was regarded in 
 Paris as declared ; it was openly talked of ."f 
 
 On the 23d July, Petrucci, the Tuscan embassador, writes 
 to his ducal master, that the royal council have been in deliber- 
 ation about the ransom of the prisoners, but " does not know 
 how the king [Charles] can grant this, without giving the 
 greatest suspicion to the Catholic king; and yet he shows 
 great interest in the matter."J 
 
 Elizabeth had done her part in the anti-Spanish movement by 
 sending troops to Flushing. Sir T. Smith wrote to inform 
 Walsingham that Sir Humphrey Gilbert had been " sent over 
 with his band of Englishmen and some Frenchmen, who 
 have taken Sluys and besieged the castle." 
 
 Just at this juncture the queen-mother happened to be in 
 Lorraine tending her sick daughter, and the news of the mar- 
 tial outburst brought her back in haste to Paris. She was 
 
 * The Grand Seignor heard of the proposed Flemish war, and offered to 
 help Charles with two galleys and some troops. Sully : Mtm. i. p. 15 (Engl. 
 ed.). 
 
 t Baschet, p. 540 : " La guerra per quattro o sei di continui fa tenuta de- 
 liberata." Tommaseo: Relations Venitiennes, ii. p. 171. 
 
 J "Tuttavia ne far ogni mapgiore istanza." See also his letters dated 
 20th and 23d August. Alberi : Vita di Calerina de Medici, 4to. Florence, 
 1838. Digges, p. 231.
 
 362 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 too wise to oppose her son's warlike humor openly, but she so 
 far shook his resolution as to have the whole subject brought 
 before the council. She was adverse to the Avar on many 
 grounds, but principally because she felt assured that if Coligny 
 carried on a successful campaign, his influence with the king 
 would quite supersede her own. She did not know how far 
 the king and the admiral had gone already. The latter, who 
 was always with Charles, even to a late hour, wrote on the 
 llth August to Prince William of Orange, that there could 
 be no doubt as to the king's earnestness (Walsingham says: 
 "But for the king, all had quailed long before"), and that he 
 hoped in a few days to come to his help w r ith 1 2,000 arquebus- 
 iers and 3000 cavalry. Yet only one day before this, Wal- 
 singham wrote home : " Commonly it is given out that the 
 king will no more meddle, . . . yet I am assured that under- 
 hand he is content there shall [be] somewhat done, for that 
 he seeth the peril that will befall unto him, if the Prince of 
 Orange quail." The English embassador's means of informa- 
 tion were so complete, that he actually knew more of what 
 was going on in the cabinet than the admiral did. 
 
 The extreme Catholic party had rallied and were trying 
 every thing in their power to destroy the Huguenot ascendan- 
 cy at court, and Charles's resolution fluctuated from day to 
 day. That he might enjoy a little quiet, he suddenly started 
 for Montpipeau, a pleasant hunting-lodge, intending to remain 
 there until the eve of his sister's marriage. Meanwhile bad 
 news reached the French court; Catherine discovered that 
 Queen Elizabeth was playing her false, and while pretending 
 zeal for an alliance against Spain, was actually treating with 
 that power. De Foix and Fenelon both wrote from private 
 information that she had been advised to recall her troops 
 from Flanders and not quarrel with Spain. " Whereupon," 
 writes Walsingham, on the 10th August, "the queen-mother 
 fell into such fear that the enterprise must necessarily fail 
 without the aid of England." * The report was untrue, and 
 * Letter to Burghlcy. Digges, pp. 231-234.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 363 
 
 was probably a mere invention of some of the traitors in the 
 English council.* But it frightened Catherine, and she deter- 
 mined to make one more attempt to recover her ascendancy 
 over the king. She hurried to Montpipeau with such impetu- 
 ous haste that two of her horses fell dead on the road. With 
 tears in her eyes, she accused Charles of ingratitude to a moth- 
 er " who had sacrificed herself for his welfare and incurred 
 every risk for his advantage." " You hide yourself from me," 
 she continued, " and take counsel with my enemies. You are 
 about to plunge your kingdom into a war with Spam, and yet 
 England, in whose alliance you trusted, is false to you. Alone 
 you can not resist so powerful an enemy. You will only make 
 France a prey to the Huguenots, who desire the subversion of 
 the kingdom for their own benefit. If you will no longer be 
 guided by my advice, suffer me to return to my native coun- 
 try, that I may not witness such disgrace." " This artful ha- 
 rangue," says Tavannes, " frightened the king, who, wonder- 
 ing to see his secret counsels- revealed, confessed them all, beg- 
 ged his mother's pardon, and promised obedience." Tavan- 
 nes, whose authority for circumstances of which he was not 
 an eye-witness is rather doubtful, alludes to the common ru- 
 mor that M. de Sauve, the king's secretary, had revealed these 
 " secret counsels " to his wife, Charlotte de Beaune, by whom 
 they were told to her lover the Duke of Anjou, who, in his 
 turn, communicated them to his mother. Whatever secrets 
 may have been divulged, certainly this of the projected Flem- 
 ish war was not one ; for if it was unknown to Catherine, she 
 must have been the only person in the court ignorant of it.f 
 She was undoubtedly alarmed at the apparently isolated posi- 
 tion of France ; and we shall see that, finding all other methods 
 fail of averting war, she did not shrink from murder. No 
 doubt her " affetto di signorreggiare " had much to do with 
 her bloody resolution ; but she may also have believed Coligny 
 
 * Sir Thomas Smith writes 22cl Angust : "There is no revocation (re- 
 call of troops) done nor meant.'' Digges, p. 237. 
 t The Memoirs of Tnvannes put this beyond a doubt.
 
 364 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 to be a dangerous adviser, and in an unscrupulous age there 
 was little difficulty in getting rid of such a man. 
 
 The exact date of the interview at Montpipeau is not known, 
 but it probably took place during the first week in August, for 
 Walsingham evidently refers to it in his letter of the 1 Oth of 
 that month : " Touching Flanders matters, such of the council 
 here as incline to Spain have put the queen-mother in such a 
 fear, that she with tears had dissuaded the king for the time, 
 who otherwise was very resolute. . . . The admiral in this 
 brunt, whose mind is invincible and foreseeth what is like to 
 ensue, doth not now give over, but layeth before the king his 
 peril if the Prince of Orange quail." And again: " The king 
 is grown cold, who before was very forward, and nothing 
 prevailed so much as the tears of his mother. . . . How 
 perplexed the admiral is, who foreseeth the mischief that is 
 likely to follow, your lordship [Leicester] may easily guess. 
 He never showed greater magnanimity, nor never was better 
 followed nor more honored of those of the religion, than he now 
 is, which doth not a little appall the enemies. He layeth be- 
 fore the king and council the peril and danger of his estate ; 
 and though he can not obtain what he would, yet doth he ob- 
 tain something from him." * This was the admiral's death- 
 warrant. Charles listened to him rather than to his mother. 
 " What do you learn in your long conversations with the admi- 
 ral?" asked Catherine one day. " I learn," he replied, " that I 
 have no greater enemy than my mother." She saw her power 
 slipping from her, and her son Anjou, her beloved, her favorite 
 son, in danger ; for she knew how violent Charles could be when 
 he was once aroused. And all depended upon the life of one 
 man ! And when in those days did any body, especially an 
 Italian man or woman, allow a single life to stand between them 
 and their desire ? Coligny must be got rid of ; then the queen- 
 mother would recover her influence ; then there would be an end 
 of this perplexing Flemish business ; and with Henry of Na- 
 
 * Digges, p. 234.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 365 
 
 varre, the head of the Huguenot party, married to her daugh- 
 ter, there would be no cause to fear a revival of internal dis- 
 turbances. 
 
 But these political negotiations and discussions were not 
 permitted to delay the preparations for the marriage that was 
 to unite Catholics and Reformers into one homogeneous people. 
 
 On the 6th of May Joan left Blois, and arrived in Paris 
 eight or nine days after, such being the rate at which royalty 
 traveled a distance that now does not require as many hours. 
 She took up her abode in a house belonging to Jean Guillart, 
 Bishop of Chartres, one of the prelates who had been excom- 
 municated in 1563 for his liberal opinions. The removal to 
 Paris was fatal to her : within a month she sickened and died 
 (9th June, 1572),* not without suspicion of poison administered 
 by means of a pair of gloves sent to her by Rene, the queen- 
 mother's perfumer. There is not the slightest ground for the 
 suspicion : the season was unhealthy. " People are dying here 
 very fast," wrote the dowager Princess of Conde, " for which 
 reason I do not send for my children." f What wonder, then, 
 that the Queen of Navarre, who was ill at ease, should pine and 
 sicken in the hot ill-cleansed streets of Paris.J De Thou says 
 she died of an abscess brought on by excessive fatigue. Al- 
 though suffering acutely, she bore the pain without a word of 
 impatience or complaint. When she saw her women weeping 
 
 * Favyn says 10th June ; an inscription in the Etat de France gives Idus 
 ,7i/nu(]3tli). 
 
 t Letter to Mdlle. dc Guillerville, 12 June, 1572 ; Paris . Cab. Hist. ii. p. 
 227. Sir II. Xorris testifies to the unhealthiness of Paris : he took a house 
 beyond the walls, " to be out of the corrupt air of the town, which surely is 
 such as none other to be compared to Paris." Wright; Elizabeth, i. 306. 
 See also Coryat : Cmdlties. 
 
 % Mdlle. Vauvilliers, whose conscientious biography of Joan of Navarre is 
 marred by the absence of dates and authorities, says that an autopsy was 
 several times ordered, but never made (iii. p. 194). On the other hand, the 
 Clironoloyie Novennaire expressly states that Caillard, her physician, and 
 Desnceuds, her surgeon, dissected the queen's brain, which they found in a 
 sound state. On her death, see Villegomblain : Mem. des Troubles, i. 259 ; 
 Bun- : TJist. Henri IV. (4to. Paris, 1765) ; Favyn': Hist. Navarre, p. 863 (fol. 
 Paris, 1612).
 
 366 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 round her be'd : " Do not cry," she said ; " God is calling me 
 to that better life, which I have always longed for." Her great 
 anxiety was about her children her son Henry and her daugh- 
 ter the amiable Catherine : " I trust that God will be a father 
 and protector to them, as he has been to me in my sorest trials. 
 To his providence I commit them, feeling sure he will provide 
 for them." With these words she died, at the age of forty-four, 
 leaving a name still mentioned with fond respect among the 
 mountains of Beam. There were some who openly exulted 
 in her death, calling it " a judgment from heaven upon Jezebel 
 the Huguenot queen." But hers was a character which, though 
 deficient in some of the milder features of a woman's nature, 
 could despise such uncharitable judgment. Voltaire describes 
 her as 
 
 Grande par des vertus qui manquaient a son fils, 
 
 and one of her contemporaries, adopting the words of Quin- 
 tus Curtius, speaks of her as possessing nil muliebre nisi sex- 
 urn (nothing in common with her sex except the name of wom- 
 an). After her conversion, she devoted all her energies to 
 the propagation of the Reformed faith, even (it is said) to the 
 extent of preaching, though the strongest evidence that she 
 ever ascended the pulpit is a doubtful contemporaneous cari- 
 cature. Queen Elizabeth was as much attached to her as her 
 vain and selfish nature permitted. Henry, fully alive to the 
 importance of keeping up this friendship, wrote to announce 
 his mother's death, and to request a continuance of her friend- 
 ship : " Entertaining the same desire which the late queen, my 
 mother, always manifested toward you, I most humbly entreat 
 you will impart to me that friendship and kindness which you 
 always showed her, and the effects of which we have known in 
 so many instances that I shall always feel myself your debtor, 
 which I will testify in every thing you may be pleased to com- 
 mand me to obey and do service, whenever I have the power." * 
 The queen's death increased the distrust with which many 
 
 * Lettres missives de Henri IV. i. p. 31. Collect, des Doc. Hist. France.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 367 
 
 of the Huguenot party looked upon the demonstrations and 
 favors of the court. From every quarter the admiral con- 
 tinued to receive cautions and warnings of treachery ; but 
 firm in his own integrity and good faith, he put them all 
 aside.* Many of his friends urged him to be on his guard. 
 The people of La Rochelle sent him more than one address on 
 the rumors that were abroad and on the suspicious aspect of 
 affairs ; but he told them there was no occasion to fear (7th 
 August). Another time he made answer: "A man would 
 never be at ease, if he interpreted every action to his own dis- 
 advantage. It would be better to die a hundred times than 
 live in constant apprehension. I am tired of such alarms, and 
 have lived long enough." To others who advised him to leave 
 
 o o 
 
 Paris, he said : " By so doing I must show either fear or dis- 
 trust. My honor would be injured by the one, the king by 
 the other. I should be again obliged to have recourse to a 
 civil war ; and I would rather die a thousand deaths than see 
 again the miseries I have seen, and suffer the distress I have 
 already suffered." Another time he said : " I can not leave 
 without plunging the country into fresh wars. I would 
 rather be dragged through the gutters than resort to such ex- 
 tremity." An intercepted letter from Cardinal Pelve to the 
 Cardinal of Lorraine, who had just departed for Rome, was 
 brought to him. He read in it : " There are great hopes of 
 success in the enterprise ; the admiral suspects nothing ; the 
 Avar with Flanders is a mere trick ; the King of Spain knows 
 all about it." The letter was manifestly a forgery a device 
 to prevent the marriage, and the admiral treated it with con- 
 tempt. Many of the warnings he received were like prophetic 
 dreams remembered only when the event confirms their fore- 
 castings. How could a man of such a noble and generous 
 character be suspicious when his royal master was treating 
 him with so much kindness and deference ! Charles had learn- 
 
 *Matthien, I. liv. vi. p. 343. A long list of these warnings will be found 
 in the Reveille-Matin.
 
 368 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 ed at last that Philip was continually intriguing and foment- 
 ing disturbances in France. He was not so blind as his moth- 
 er thought him : with all her art, she could not effectually re- 
 press those generous flashes which from time to time burst 
 out only to make us regret that a better education had not 
 fitted Charles for his royal station. When he wrote inviting 
 the admiral to leave Chatillon and come to Paris, the latter de- 
 clined on account of the hostility of the citizens. " You have 
 no cause to fear," replied the king ; " they will attempt noth- 
 ing against my will." At the same time he ordered Marcel, 
 the provost of the merchants, to see that there was no " scan- 
 dal " (disturbance) on account of the admiral's arrival, or he 
 would be answerable for it. 
 
 Coligny had need of all his patience and all his loyalty. 
 What he built up one day the queen-mother pulled down the 
 next. Catherine told the Venetian envoy, Giovanni Michieli, 
 that she would not go to war against Spain unless Philip com- 
 pelled her : " Assure their lordships of Venice," she added, 
 " that not only my words but my acts shall prove the firmness 
 of my resolutions." * In a few hours, as we have seen, Cath- 
 erine had recovered her empire over her son, who, though 
 physically brave, had no moral courage, and could not bring 
 himself to tell the admiral of his altered purposes. No one 
 else would venture to do so, and it was therefore suggested 
 that, in consequence of certain intelligence which the king had 
 received, Coligny should be requested to lay his plans before 
 a committee of the council (consisting of Montpensier, Louis 
 of Gonzaga, Cosse, and others), who were certain to condemn 
 them. They unanimously opposed the war, and after ineffect- 
 ually trying to bend the king, he turned to the queen-mother, 
 and said : " Madam, the king refuses to enter upon a war with 
 Spain. God grant he may not be engaged in another which 
 he may perhaps find it not so easy to renounce."! This, which 
 
 * "Non solo con le parole ma con gli effetti ;" and Michieli adds, 
 "quanto agli effetti, quello die e poi scguito contra gli Ugonotti." 
 
 t Michieli : Relazione ; Baschet. Salviati wrote (24th August) : " Quando
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 369 
 
 is the language of disappointed hopes, soxinded very like a 
 threat, and there may probably have been a bitterness in his 
 tone that gave a meaning to his words he never intended they 
 should bear. He only meant, what he had often said before, 
 that the best mode of healing the wounds of the past wars 
 would be to march the two parties side by side to fight a com- 
 mon enemy. But his enemies put the worst construction on 
 his language, and his death was resolved on.* The king was 
 very impressionable : if he were suffered to consult with the 
 admiral again, the old ascendancy might be recovered, and 
 would Coligny be inclined to use his new power mercifully? 
 The blow must be struck at once, but first the union of the 
 two families must be cemented by the marriage of Henry and 
 Margaret. 
 
 On the 8th of July, Henry, now King of Navarre, entered 
 Paris, attended by the Prince of Conde, the Cardinal of Bour- 
 bon, the admiral, and 800 of the most gallant gentlemen in 
 France, all dressed in mourning garments, very different from 
 the gay costumes worn by the Catholic gentlemen, who went 
 out to meet him. At the gate of St. Jacques he w r as received 
 by the Duke of Anjou and a magnificent train of nobles and 
 officers attached to the court. The corporation of the city 
 attended in their scarlet robes. Conde and his brother the 
 marquis rode between the Duke of Guise and the Chevalier 
 d'Angouleme; Henry between the king's two brothers, Anjou 
 and Alenyon. The united trains, amounting to 1500 horse- 
 men, proceeded in ominous silence through the crowded 
 streets to the Louvre. No voice was raised to greet the Hu- 
 guenot princes, though many a murmur showed the feeling of 
 the populace, who from time to time raised the cry of "Guise" 
 or " Anjou." But the ladies at the windows were more de- 
 
 serissi ai giorni passati che 1' ammirnplio a' avanza troppo, e clic gli darebbero 
 sii 1'unghe (a rap on the knuckles), gia mi era accorto clic non lo volevano 
 piii tollerare." Walsinpham was quite of Coligny's opinion about the war. 
 * Tavannes says : "There was no other resolution for the massacre than 
 what the admiral and his adherents occasioned." 
 
 A A
 
 370 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 monstrative, as Henry of Navarre with Ids handsome features 
 and winning smile bowed to the saddle-bow, or occasionally 
 pointed to some group more attractive than usual, which 
 caught his eye in balcony or window. In after years, he used 
 to look back to this as the happiest day of his life. 
 
 For a moment the mocking humor of the Parisian populace 
 Avas overawed. But when the escort began to separate and 
 to move in smaller bodies through the streets to gain their 
 lodgings, the mob recovered their audacity : " Come and see 
 the accursed Huguenots, these outcasts of heaven !" As the 
 Protestants wandered through the city, they greatly offended 
 the superstitious prejudices of the citizens by neglecting to 
 raise their hats as they passed the crosses or the images 
 at the corners. " Deniers of God !" muttered the bigoted 
 priests, as they scowled on the men who passed them with a 
 look of scorn and pity. The Huguenots have been accurately 
 designated as "quasi aliens," men alien in language, cos- 
 tume, and religion. For years the sound of psalm-singing had 
 not offended Parisian ears, and now the hated words of Marot 
 were heard once more in their streets. What wonder if there 
 were frequent quarrels, if blood was shed, and if it was found 
 necessary to keep the Huguenots pretty much by themselves. 
 " Both parties," says Haton, " were armed and equipped as if 
 about to enter upon a campaign." The Protestants were 
 walking over a volcano, and there were bigots and fanatics 
 among them who seemed to court rather than avoid an explo- 
 sion. 
 
 The wedding-day had been originally fixed for the 10th 
 June, but difficulties about the dispensation, and then the ill- 
 ness and death of Joan of Navarre, had caused the ceremony 
 to be delayed. Pius V. had (as AVC have seen) constantly op- 
 posed the marriage, and refused to grant the dispensation re- 
 quired when the parties were of different religions, and also 
 so nearly related. But the new pope, Gregory XIII., appears 
 to have been more compliant, or the letter stating that the 
 bull of dispensation was on the road must have been a for-
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 371 
 
 gery.* There were many reasons why the marriage should 
 be put off no longer. As the young queen's health was deli- 
 cate, and she was soon to become a mother, it was advisable 
 to get her away as early as possible from the noise and mala- 
 ria of the capital.f It was therefore arranged that the wed- 
 ding should take place on the 1 8th August. The betrothal 
 was solemnized the day before at the Louvre, whence, after a 
 supper and ball, the bride was conducted by the king and 
 queen, the queen-mother, the Duchess of Lorraine, and other 
 lords and ladies, to the palace of the Bishop of Paris, where, 
 according to the ceremonial observed in such cases, she passed 
 the night. On Monday the King of Navarre went to fetch 
 her: he was accompanied by Anjou and Alenyon and a host 
 of other lords of both religions. Charles, Henry, and Condc 
 were dressed alike to show their close affection. . " Every body 
 hates me but my brother of Navarre," the king once said; 
 "and he loves me, and I love him." Their dress was of pale 
 yellow satin, embroidered with silver, and adorned with pearls 
 and precious stones. The other lords were richly dressed ac- 
 cording to their fancy, and contemporaries speak with wonder 
 of the costly ornaments they wore. Michieli, the Venetian 
 ambassador, says : " You would not believe there was any dis- 
 tress in the kingdom. The king's toque, charger, and gar- 
 ments cost from five to six hundred thousand crowns. Anjou, 
 among other jewels in his toque, had a set of thirty-two pearls 
 bought for the occasion at the cost of 23,000 gold crowns of 
 the sun. More than one hundred and twenty ladies dazzled 
 the eyes with the brilliancy of their sumptuous silks, brocades, 
 and velvets, thickly interwoven with gold or silver." Marga- 
 ret very complacently describes her own large blue mantle 
 
 * Grabut says the marriage took place, " Grcgorii XIII. pcrmissu." Acta 
 Sanctorum. 
 
 t "Lunedi (25 Agosto)'Ia corte so ritira a Fontanablo, dove la rogina 
 farail suo parto." Petrucci, letter 20th August. On the 23d, giving Duke 
 Cosmo an account of the attempt on the admiral's life, he says : " Si 
 pensava chc la corte partissc martedi prossimo" (2Gih August).
 
 372 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 with its train four ells long. According to the custom ob- 
 served on the marriage of a king's daughter, the nuptial cere- 
 mony was to be performed in a pavilion constructed on the 
 open space fronting the cathedral of Notre Dame. It was a 
 beautiful summer day; cannons roai'ed, the bells rang out 
 cheerily from every steeple, and every roof, window, or spot 
 of ground whence a view of the procession could be caught 
 was densely crowded. But the spectators were not so joyous 
 as they usually are when any great pai'ade of state is to be ex- 
 hibited. The marriage was not popular, and ominous mur- 
 murs against the heretics were heard from time to time. A 
 raised covered platform led from the bishop's palace to the 
 pavilion, and along it marched bishops and archbishops lead- 
 ing the way in copes of cloth of gold. Then came the cardi- 
 nals resplendent in scarlet, knights of St. Michael \vith their 
 orders, followed by all the great officers of state, whose places 
 and the interval between them were regulated by the strictest 
 etiquette. Among these was Henry, Duke of Guise, then 
 twenty-two years old, one of the handsomest men of the day. 
 Countless fingers were pointed to him, and Ms reception, com- 
 pared with that afterward given to the king, reminds us of 
 that so inimitably described by our great dramatic poet : 
 
 You would have thought the very windows spoke, 
 So many greedy looks of young and old 
 Through casements darted their desiring eyes 
 Upon his visage ; and that all the walls, 
 With painted imagery, said at once : 
 Jesus preserve thee ! welcome ! 
 
 When "the well grac'd actor left the stage," men's eyes 
 would have " idly bent " upon the rest of the procession, but 
 that it consisted of the fairest dames and damsels of the court, 
 chief of whom was the bride herself, whose beauty deserved 
 all the raptures that poets have lavished upon it. Ronsard 
 calls her "the fair grace Pasithea," and compares her hands 
 to . the " fingers of young Aurora, rose-dyed and steeped in 
 dew." At church her dazzling beauty disturbed the devo-
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 373 
 
 tions of the worshipers. She had just completed her twen- 
 tieth year : her complexion was clear, her hair black, her eyes 
 full of fire, though at times remarkable for a dreamy lan- 
 guor, which gave her a voluptuous and tender look, as if to 
 indicate a heart that was framed for love. All her move- 
 ments were full of grace and majesty. She was unrivaled in 
 the dance, and played on the lute and sang with exquisite 
 taste. But there was a frightful reverse to this charming 
 picture : she was untruthful, vain, extravagant, and" hoped by 
 her devotion to the forms of religion to atone for the errors 
 of her daily life. In justice, however, to Margaret, let it be 
 said that this last defect was not peculiar to herself or to the 
 sixteenth century ; nor dare we affirm that such compromises 
 between God and the world were more common then than 
 they are now. 
 
 Margaret's dress on her wedding-day was long the talk of 
 court gossips. In such matters her taste was peculiar and ex- 
 quisite. Brilliants flamed like stars among her hair ; her 
 stomacher was sprinkled with pearls, so as to resemble a 
 silvery coat of mail ; her dress was of cloth of gold, and rare 
 lace of the same precious metal fringed her handkerchief and 
 gloves. 
 
 After the marriage ceremony had been performed in the 
 pavilion,* Henry led his bride into the Church of Notre 
 Dame to hear mass, and then withdrew with Conde, the ad- 
 miral, and other lords, who passed the interval walking up 
 and down the cathedral close. The historian De Thou, then 
 a youth at college, was among the spectators of the cere- 
 mony. After the bridal train had left the church, he leaped 
 over the barriers, and found himself close to the admiral, 
 who was showing Damville the banners captured at Jarnac 
 and Moncontour, which hung as trophies from the wall. " I 
 heard him say," continues De Thou: "Ere long these will 
 
 * Davila says that when she was asked whether she would take Henry 
 for her husband, she made no reply, and that Charles with his own hand 
 bent her head as if to nod assent. Margaret is silent on the matter.
 
 37- MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 be down, and others more agreeable to the eyes put up in 
 their place." 
 
 Henry conducted his wife to the bishop's palace, where a 
 magnificent dinner had been prepared for them ; but there 
 was no dancing : not that bishops had any objection to such 
 amusements, but because there was no time, for a magnificent 
 supper awaited all the wedding-party at the Louvre. The 
 next three days were passed in festivities, balls and banquets, 
 masques and tourneys, in which both Huguenots and Catho- 
 lics took part. Old enmities seemed forgotten.* In all these 
 amusements Henry of Navarre distinguished himself. He 
 had a kind word for every body, was ready with jest and 
 humor, charmed the ladies by his gallantry, which, though 
 rather unpolished (for he had seen more of camps than of 
 courts) was the more pleasing from its novelty. Charles 
 grew fonder of him than ever, while his dislike for Anjou in- 
 creased proportionately. 
 
 On the evening of Wednesday, the 20th August, a splendid 
 masque was represented, in which some historians imagine 
 that the coming tragedy was actually prefigured. In the 
 great hall of the Hotel Bourbon, which adjoined the Louvre, 
 the eternal struggle between good and evil was depicted in a 
 very curious way. On the right was Paradise, defended by 
 three armed knights (the king and his two brothers) : on the 
 left was Hell, and between them flowed the Styx, on which 
 Charon plied his ferry-boat. Behind Paradise lay the Ely- 
 sian fields and Heaven resplendent with glittering stars. A 
 body of knights, armed cap-d-pie, and distinguished by va- 
 rious scarves and favors, attempted to make their way into 
 Paradise, but they wei'e all defeated and dragged into Hell, to 
 the great exultation of the devil and his imps, who closed the 
 doors upon them. And now Heaven opened, and there de- 
 scended from it Mercury and Cupid. After a song to the 
 
 * Charles IX. to Fcrrails, 24th August: "All my subjects have exhibited 
 the greatest joy and contentment " at the marriage. It is clear from this 
 letter that the dispensation had not arrived. Raumer, i. 281.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 375 
 
 three victorious knights, Mercury (who was Etienne le Roi, 
 the first singer of the day) re-entered his car, which was borne 
 by a cock that kept crowing lustily, and was taken back to Heav- 
 en. A ballet f olknved, then a tilting-match the combatants, 
 it is to be presumed, were on foot. The amusements were 
 terminated by firing trains of gunpowder laid round a fount- 
 ain in the centre of the hall. It is absurd to attach any im- 
 portance to these allegorical representations, which were the 
 fashion of the day, and were probably prepared by the court 
 poet as a mere matter of business, and who certainly would 
 not have been let into the secret if there were any. But 
 after the massacre the Catholics used to boast that the king 
 had driven the Huguenots into hell. The next day, Thursday, 
 other shows were exhibited, to the great disgust of the ad- 
 miral, who wanted to leave Paris, which he could not do until he 
 had transacted some very important business with the king, 
 and Charles was so taken up with the wedding festivities, 
 and entered into them so heartily, that he scarcely gave him- 
 self time for sleep, much less for business. " Give me three 
 or four days more of relaxation," he said, " and after that I 
 promise you, on my royal word, that you shall be satisfied." 
 Still the admiral wanted to get away, and would probably 
 have left, but for a deputation from the Huguenot churches, 
 who prayed him to remain until their affairs were satisfactori- 
 ly arranged. The admiral longed to -be at home. On the 
 wedding-day of the King of Navarre, he wrote to his wife 
 the last letter she was ever to receive from him. 
 
 PARIS, ISth August, 1572. 
 MY DEAREST AND MOST BELOVED WIFE. 
 
 To-day the marriage of the king's sister with the King of Navarre was 
 celebrated, and the next three or four days will be occupied with banquets, 
 masques, and other amusements ; and when those are over the king has 
 promised to devote some days to an inquiry into the complaints that arc 
 made from different parts of the kingdom about the infractions of the 
 edict, in which it is most reasonable that I should employ myself ns much 
 as possible ; and though I have an infinite desire to sec you, yet I should 
 be very sorry, and I believe you would grieve also, if I failed to interest my- 
 self to the extent of my power. At all events the delay will not be long,
 
 376 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 and I hope to leave next week. If I studied my own convenience only, I 
 would rather be with you than stay any longer at court, for reasons I will 
 tell you ; but we must set the public advantage before our own.* I have 
 much to tell you, when I see you, which I desire night and day. As for 
 news the, wedding-mass was sung this afternoon at four o'clock, the King 
 of Navarre walking about in a court-yard with all those of the religion who 
 had accompanied him. Other matters I leave till we meet ; meanwhile I 
 pray God to have you, my beloved wife, in his holy keeping. 
 
 P.S. Three days ago I suffered with colic pains, which lasted eight or 
 ten hours, but I thank God that by his goodness I am now quite free from 
 them. Be assured that during these pastimes and festivities I will give of- 
 fense to no man. Farewell, from your beloved husband, CHATILLON. 
 
 On Wednesday the admiral had an audience of the king, 
 in the course of which Charles spoke to him about the Guise 
 faction, remarking that he was not sure of them ; they had 
 come in strong force to the wedding, and were well armed ; 
 and to keep them in order he proposed to introduce " his ar- 
 quebusiers" into the city under certain officers whom he 
 named. Coligny thanked his majesty: "Although I believe 
 myself quite safe, I willingly leave the matter in your hands." 
 In the course of the day, 1200 of the guard marched into 
 Paris, and were quartered in the Louvre and its vicinity. 
 This was a measure of precaution. There was every proba- 
 bility of a collision in the streets, and a strong force was nec- 
 essary to command the respect of both factions. Charles was 
 gradually recovering from the effects of his mother's entreat- 
 ies at Montpipeau : the more he saw of the admiral, the more 
 he was pleased with the loyalty and honesty of the old Hu- 
 guenot warrior. Anjou and Catherine had attentively watch- 
 ed the change. In that remarkable statement which the duke 
 is believed to have made to one of his attendants, he says : 
 " We had observed that if either of us ventured to speak with 
 the king after the long and frequent conversations he used to 
 have with the admiral, we found him strangely out of tem- 
 
 * This is in direct contradiction to Tavannes, who says: "il continue scs 
 aad.tccs, importune, se ftchc, menace dejiartir," etc. 1 J . 41G.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 377 
 
 per ; he looked angry, and the answers he gave were unac- 
 companied by the honor and respect he used to show the 
 queen. One day, shortly before the massacre, I went express- 
 ly to see the king, and entered his closet as the admiral left 
 it ; but as soon as my brother observed me, he began to pace 
 the room angrily, looking at me askance, and playing with 
 the handle of his dagger, so that I expected he would attack 
 me every minute. As he continued in this furious mood, I 
 began to regret having entered the room, and with some 
 trouble contrived to leave it without attracting his notice. I 
 went straight to my mother, and told her what had happen- 
 ed, and after comparing things together, we came to the con- 
 clusion that the admiral had inspired the king with some sin- 
 ister opinion of us, and we therefore determined to get rid of 
 him, and to concert the means with the Duchess of Nemours, 
 whom alone we ventured to admit into the plot, because of 
 the mortal hatred she bore to the admiral." * One account 
 says that a council was held at Monceaux, shortly after the 
 scene at Montpipeau, at which Anjou, Tavannes, Retz, Sauve, 
 and Catherine were present, and where it was resolved to as- 
 sassinate Coligny ; that Catherine told the Duchess of Ne- 
 mours, and that the court then returned to Paris. This does 
 not contradict Anjou's narrative, though it does not exactly 
 harmonize with it. 
 
 The Duchess of Nemours was the widow of the late Duke 
 of Guise. She had married again, but still nourished the most 
 rancorous hatred against the supposed murderer of her first 
 husband. Her son, who had been admitted into the plot, 
 proposed that she should kill the admiral with her own hand, 
 in the midst of the court festivities, and before the eyes of the 
 king.f When the duchess refused to take so active a part 
 
 * We abridge rather than translate Anjou's narrative, whose authenticity 
 is doubtful. It will not bear minute comparison with other statements of 
 indisputable truthfulness. 
 
 t See Sal viati's letter of 24th Aupnst. Mackintosh: Hist. England, An- 
 jou does not mention the presence of the duke at this meeting.
 
 378 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 in Coligny's murder, they sent for Maurevel, the king's assas- 
 sin (le tueur clu roi), as he was called.* This man had been 
 brought up in the late Duke of Guise's household ; and when 
 a price had been set upon the admiral's head, he made an at- 
 tempt on Coligny's life, but killed Jacques do Mouy instead. 
 He was rewarded, however, for his good intentions, and not 
 only received the promised 2000 crowns, but at the king's ex- 
 press desire the collar of the Order was conferred upon him. 
 This was the ruffian whom Anjou and Henry of Guise hired 
 to murder the great Huguenot leader. After receiving the 
 necessary instructions he repaired to his post ; and while he 
 was watching day after day for his victim, Catherine was de- 
 vising fresh amusements in honor of her daughter's marriage, f 
 
 * "Maurevers ct non pas Maurevel," according to the Art de Verifier, 
 but erroneously ; ho is also called Moruel, Montravel, Maurevcrt, and 
 Moureveil. His real name was Louvier, sire de Maurevert en Brie. For 
 his murderous services he was rewarded with two good abbeys. L'Estoile's 
 Journal. He accompanied Marshal de Ketz on his embassy to England in 
 1573, and on his arriving at Greenwich, where the court was staying, he 
 was recognized by a page, and pointed out as "the admiral's murderer!" 
 A shout of execration was raised, he was chased by the rabble, and never 
 dared show himself again. Etat de France, ii. 217. He was killed in 1583, 
 in the Rue St. Honore', by young Arthur Mouy, who was immediately after 
 shot by one of the guards who always attended the tueur du roi. Villcgom- 
 blain, Mem. p. 144. Journal du Reyne de Henri JIT. p. 7 1 , ed. Cologne, 1 G72. 
 This last epithet could hardly have been earned by the commission of one 
 murder that of Mouy. At the siege of Rochelle, none of the principal of- 
 ficers would associate with him, and he was sent to an isolated post. See 
 Bouillon's Memoirs, p. 14. 
 
 t Some writers have supposed that through her daughter Margaret, Cath- 
 erine discovered a scheme concerted between Charles and Coligny to banish 
 both her and the Guises from court ; and that a common danger made her 
 combine with Duke Henry to crush the Huguenots, trusting to find the 
 means afterward of counterbalancing the house of Lorraine.
 
 MASSACKE OF ST. BAETHOLOMEW. 379 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE ASSASSINATION. 
 
 [22d, 23d, and 24th August.] 
 
 Coligny in the Tennis-Court The Fatal Shot The King's Indignation 
 and Threats Letters to Provincial Governors Precautions in the City 
 Interview between Charles and the Admiral Despair of Catherine and 
 Anjou The Huguenot Council Threats of violence De Pilles and 
 Pardaillan at the Louvre The Turning-point Conversation between 
 Catherine and Anjou Meeting in the Tuileries Garden Guard sent to 
 Coligny Scene in the King's Closet Catherine's Argument De Iletz 
 Protests Charles Yields at last Guise in the City Precautions Anjou 
 and Angouleme ride through Paris Municipal Arrangements Charles 
 and La Kochefoucault Margaret and her sister Claude Coligny's last 
 Night. 
 
 THE 22d of August, 1572, fell on Friday. Early in the 
 morning Coligny had gone to the Louvre on business, and was 
 on his way home, when he met the king coming from chapel. 
 He turned and accompanied Charles to the tennis-court, where 
 he stood a short time watching a match which his son-in- 
 law, Teligny, and another were playing against the king and 
 the Duke of Guise. When he took his leave, it was past 
 ten o'clock, and near his dinner-hour. To reach his hotel * 
 in the Rue do 1'Arbre Sec, at the corner of the Rue de 
 Bethisy, he had to pass along the Rue des Fosse's de St. 
 Germain. As he was turning the corner with De Guerchy 
 on one side and Des Pruneaux on the other, a shot was fired 
 from the latticed window of a house on his right, known as 
 the Hotel de Retz, near one of the large doors of the cloister 
 of St. Germain 1'Auxerrois adjoining the deanery. The ad- 
 
 * It was the hotel of the Counts of Ponthieu; and in the 18th century 
 became an inn, under the title, " Hotel de Lisieux." Hommes illustres de 
 la France, 1747.
 
 380 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 miral, who was reading a petition that had just been placed 
 in his hands, staggered backward, exclaiming, " I am wound- 
 ed," and fell into the arms of the Sieur de Guerchy. He was 
 hit with two bullets : one carried off the first finger of the 
 right hand, the other wounded him in the left arm. Pointing 
 to the house whence the shot had proceeded, he bade Yolet, 
 one of his esquires, go to the king and tell him what had hap- 
 pened. Des Pruneaux hastily bound a handkerchief round 
 the wounded hand, and assisted the admiral to hig hotel, 
 which was fortunately not more than a hundred yards off. 
 Meanwhile some of his attendants broke into the house, but 
 found nobody there except the old woman in charge and a 
 horse-boy, from whom they learned that the assassin Maure- 
 vel had escaped through the adjoining cloisters, that the house 
 belonged to Canon Villemur, formerly tutor to the Duke of 
 Guise, and that the horse on which Maurevel rode away came 
 from the duke's stables. The arquebuse still lay in the win- 
 dow, and on examination proved to belong to one of Anjou's 
 body-guard. 
 
 With this important but unsatisfactory information they 
 returned to the admiral, whom they found lying on his bed. 
 Ambrose Pare, the king's surgeon-royal, had already ampu- 
 tated the finger and extracted the ball from his arm ; but the 
 operation was a painful one, for the famous surgeon's instru- 
 ments were not in good order. The admiral bore the torture 
 better than his friends, who could not restrain their tears : 
 " Why do you weep ?" he asked ; " I think myself blessed 
 to have received these wounds in God's cause. Pray that 
 he will strengthen me." Then turning to his chaplain Mer- 
 lin, who was much distressed : " Why do you not rather com- 
 fort me ?" he said. " There is no greater or surer comfort for 
 you," answered Merlin, "than to think continually that God 
 does you a great honor in deeming you worthy to suffer for 
 his name's sake." " Nay, dear Merlin, if God should handle 
 me according to my deserts, I should have far other manner 
 of griefs to endure." The conversation then turned upon the
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 381 
 
 attempted murder : " I forgive freely and with all my heart," 
 said the admiral, " both him that struck me and those who 
 incited him to do it ; for I am sure it is not in their power to 
 do me any evil, not even if they kill me." 
 
 The news of the outrage spread instantaneously through 
 Paris. A messenger, all breathless, burst into the tennis-court, 
 where the king had continued playing after Coligny had left, 
 and shouted : " The admiral is killed ! the admiral is killed !" 
 Charles eagerly questioned him, and then turning abruptly 
 away, threw down his racket, angrily exclaiming as he left the 
 ground: "S'death! shall I never have a moment's quiet? 
 Must I have fresh troubles every day?"* He withdrew to 
 his apartments, declaring that he would avenge the admiral, 
 and, writing to Mandelot a few hours later, he said : " I have 
 sent in every direction to try and catch the murderer and pun- 
 ish him, as his wicked act deserves." Then continuing in lan- 
 guage whose sincerity can not be doubted : " And insomuch 
 as the news may excite many of my subjects on one side or 
 the other, I pray you make known everywhere how the affair 
 happened, and assure every body of my intention to observe 
 inviolably my edicts of pacification and to chastise sharply all 
 who infringe them, so that they may be convinced of my sin- 
 cerity and follow my example." To La Mothe-Fenelon, 
 Charles wrote that he would investigate this " infamous deed," 
 and not suffer his edict to be outraged. He ordered Teligny 
 to mount his horse and ride after the assassin,f and sent to 
 the Provost of Paris, bidding him take precautions against 
 any outbreak. The municipal council were sitting when the 
 royal messenger arrived, and without delay they took such 
 measures as seemed necessary to preserve the public peace, 
 which at that moment was in far greater danger from the in- 
 censed Huguenots than from the amazed Catholics. The civ- 
 
 * He left with a "sad and dejected countenance," says the Reveille-Ma- 
 tin: " Si facesse pallido e restasse smarrito oltro modo, e senza dir paroln 
 si ritirasse." Giovanni Michieli, Relazioni, November, 1572. 
 
 t Letter of Petrucci, 23d August. Arcliiveo Mediceo.
 
 382 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 ic guards were mustered, the post at the Hotel-de-Ville was 
 strengthened, the sentries at the gates were doubled, the citi- 
 zens were forbidden to close their shops, and no person was 
 allowed to come armed into the streets.* 
 
 Meanwhile the King of Navarre, accompanied by some 600 
 or TOO Huguenot gentlemen, visited the admiral, threatening 
 vengeance upon the assassins. Marshals Damville and Cosse 
 came in together. " Never in my life," said the former," have 
 I suffered such a heavy blow. Tell me what I can do to 
 serve you. I wonder who could be the contriver of so foul 
 an outrage." " I suspect no one," replied the admiral, adding 
 after a pause, " unless it be the Duke of Guise, and that I dare 
 not say for certain. I am grieved to find myself kept to my 
 bed, as I wished to show the king how much I would have 
 done for his sake. "Would God I might talk a little with him, 
 for there are certain things which he ought to know, and I 
 am afraid there is no one who dares tell him." Teligny im- 
 mediately proceeded to the Louvre, where he met Henry of 
 Navarre and the Prince of Conde, who had just left the royal 
 presence. They had gone to ask permission to leave the 
 court on the ground that they could no longer remain there 
 in security. Charles was greatly excited, and earnestly beg- 
 ged them to stay. Breaking into one of his tempestuous pas- 
 sions he declared, with his usual blasphemous oaths, that the ad- 
 miral's blood should be atoned for ; that he would punish all 
 concerned in the outrage, " so that the child unborn should 
 rue the vengeance of the day." Even Catherine was alarmed 
 at this burst of fury, and, with tears in her eyes, exclaimed, 
 that if this bloody deed were suffered to pass unavenged, the 
 king would not be safe in his palace. Teligny delivered his 
 message that the admiral desired to see the king before he 
 died, and Charles promised to visit his old friend. It seems 
 pretty clear that Charles suspected whence the blow proceed- 
 ed. His sister Margaret, whose memory on this point at least 
 
 * Cimbcr, vii. p. 211.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 383 
 
 is likely to be faithful, says that " if M. de Guise had not 
 kept out of the way that day, he would have been hanged." 
 And no doubt the king, in the first burst of passion, would 
 have carried out his threats. 
 
 All this time the queen-mother and Anjou were in a dread- 
 ful state of agitation. The blow had failed, and if the victim 
 recovered from his wounds, their participation in the plot 
 could not be concealed. " Our notable enterprise * having mis- 
 carried," says the duke, " my mother and myself f had ample 
 matter for reflection and uneasiness during the greater part of 
 the day." There was still hope, for the bullets might be poi- 
 soned, or the wounds mortal. There was danger all around 
 them ; Paris was in a terrible ferment ; the Huguenots were 
 angry and suspicious. The Queen of Navarre had been poi- 
 soned (they said), and now their old leader was assassinated. 
 Who would be the next victim? Murmuring crowds filled 
 the streets, and it seemed almost impossible to prevent an out- 
 break. 
 
 About two o'clock in the afternoon, Charles, accompanied 
 by his mother and his brother Henry, and attended by many 
 Avho w T ere a few hours later to stain their hands in innocent 
 blood, went to see Coligny. The king walked in moody si- 
 lence, so absorbed with his own thoughts as to omit lifting his 
 hat to an image of the Virgin at a street corner. He hardly 
 responded to the salutations of the people who crowded the 
 street in front of the admiral's hotel, which also was filled 
 with anxious and uneasy friends. Up the wide staircase, 
 lined with veterans who had fought by the side of Coligny 
 
 * Michieli, the Venetian embassador, snys that Guise had nothing to do 
 with it (Baschet : Relazioni. p. 551), and adds that on Friday night the queen 
 and Anjou told Charles of the plot. 
 
 fThe Ncustadt letter has "Briidern und Miitter." Archiv.f. Geschickle, 
 etc. xvii. 1820 p. 278 (8vo. Wien). This periodical contains a curious letter 
 from an eye-witness of the massacre addressed to L. Grnter, bishop of Wiencr- 
 Neustadt, entitled Relation der fram. miff St. Bartholoviai Tarj vorgegangenen 
 erschriicklischen Execution iiber die llvgenoten, 1572, den 24 Auyusli, anno 
 1572.
 
 384: MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 on many a bloody field through the antechamber, where the 
 Huguenot gentry frowned defiance at Catherine and Anjou, 
 whose enmity to the admiral was well known into the large 
 chamber whose windows overlooked the court-yard passed 
 the royal party. Charles went to the admiral's bedside, and 
 calling him by the affectionate name of " father," asked him 
 how he felt. " I humbly thank your majesty," he replied. 
 " for the great honor you have done me, and the great troub- 
 le you have taken on my account." Charles desired him to 
 cheer up, and hoped he would soon be well of his wounds. 
 " There are three things about which I longed to talk with 
 your majesty. The first is my own faithfulness and allegiance 
 toward your highness. So may I have the favor and mercy 
 of God, at whose judgment-seat this mischance will probably 
 set me ere long, as I have ever borne a good heart toward your 
 majesty's person and crown. And yet I am well aware that 
 malicious persons have accused me to your highness, and con- 
 demned me as a troubler of the State.* But God will judge 
 between me and my slanderers, and decide according to his 
 righteousness. . . . Now as to the Flanders matter, a straw 
 can scarcely be stirred in your secret council but it is by and 
 by carried to the Duke of Alva. Sire, I would very *fain that 
 you had a care of this thing.f ... The last which I would 
 wish you to have no less care of, is the observing of your 
 Edict of Pacification. You know you have oftentimes confirm- 
 ed it by oath, and you know that not foreign nations only, but 
 also your neighbors and friends are witnesses of the oft renew- 
 ing of the same oath. Oh, Sire, how unseemly is it that this 
 your oath should be counted but for a jest and a mockery. 
 Within these few days past, a nurse was carrying home a 
 young babe from baptism, not far from Troyes in Cham- 
 pagne, after attending a sermon in a certain village, by you 
 
 * With a few verbal changes, the account of this interview is taken from 
 Golding's Life of Jasper CoJlynij. London, 1576. 
 
 t La Chapcllc des Ursins made the same reproach to Catherine, July, 1572. 
 St. Foix : Hist. Ordre Suint-Esprit, \. p. 203.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 385 
 
 assigned for the same purpose, when certain persons, who lay 
 in wait by the way, killed both the nurse and the child, and 
 some of the company Avhich had been bidden to the christen- 
 ing. Consider, I beseech you, how terrible that murder was, 
 and how it may stand with your honor and dignity to suffer 
 such great outrages to go unrevenged and unpunished in your 
 kingdom." 
 
 The king replied that he had never doubted the admiral's 
 loyalty, but had always taken him for a good subject and ex- 
 cellent captain, without his peer in the whole realm. " If I 
 had any other opinion of you," he exclaimed, " I should never 
 have done what I have." He made no reference to the Flem- 
 ish war, but promised that the Edict of Pacification should 
 be kept faithfully and strictly; for which purpose he had 
 sent commissioners into all parts of the kingdom, appealing 
 to the queen-mother for confirmation. " My lord, there is 
 nothing truer," she said ; " commissioners have been sent into 
 all parts." " Yes, madam, I know it," returned Coligny, 
 " and of that sort of men who valued my head at 50,000 
 crowns." Charles now interposed : " My lord admiral, we 
 will send others ; 'you are getting too excited. It is better 
 that you should be quiet. You bear the wound, but I the 
 smart.* I swear by God's life that I will take such terrible 
 revenge, that it shall never be forgotten." He added that 
 two persons were' already in custody, and inquired whether 
 the admiral desired to have any of his friends in the commis- 
 sion of investigation. "I refer it to your majesty's discre- 
 tion and justice, but as you ask my opinion, I could desire to 
 see Cavaignes, Masparault, and another appointed. Surely 
 there needs no great search be made for the culprit." Upon 
 this the king and Catherine drew nearer the admiral's pillow, 
 and talked with him so low that none in the room could hear 
 what passed. At the end the queen-mother said : " Although 
 
 * " So imc nuf den Fuss trette, wolle er demsellben auf die Versen tret- 
 ten." Neustadt Letter, p. 278. 
 
 BB
 
 386 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 I am only a woman, yet I am of opinion that it is to be looked 
 to betimes." 
 
 The Duke of Anjou gives a somewhat different account of 
 this portion of the interview : " As the admiral desired to 
 speak privately with the king, his majesty made a sign to my 
 mother and to myself to retire.* We accordingly quitted the 
 bedside, and stood in the middle of the chamber, full of sus- 
 picion and uneasiness. We saw ourselves surrounded by 
 more than 200 Huguenot captains, who filled the adjoining 
 chamber and also the hall below. Their countenances were 
 melancholy, and they showed by their gestures how dis- 
 affected they were, omitting to pay us due reverence, as if they 
 suspected us of having caused the admiral's wound. We be- 
 gan to feel great apprehension, so much so that the queen deter- 
 mined to put a stop to the conversation between the king 
 and the admiral under some plausible pretext. Approaching 
 the king, she said : ' Your majesty is wrong in permitting 
 the admiral to excite himself by talking; pray put off the 
 rest until another day.' " The king with great reluctance 
 broke off the conversation. As he was leaving, he proposed 
 that the admiral should be removed to the Louvre, lest there 
 should be any commotion in the city. The surgeons protest- 
 ed against the step, and with regard to the possible tumult, 
 some one, probably Teligny, answered : " The Parisians are 
 no more to be feared than women, so long as the king contin- 
 ues his faithful good-will toward the admiral." The speaker 
 knew little of the temper of the inhabitants of that turbulent 
 city. 
 
 Before he quitted the room, Charles asked to see the ball, 
 and praised the admiral for the firmness with which he had 
 endured the pain of the operation. The queen-mother then 
 took the bullet, and poising it in her hand, said slowly and 
 significantly : " I am very glad that it is not. still in the 
 
 * "Hie regi in arcano qtuedam a Colinio insinuata divulgation cst; alii 
 tamen negant ct sccretum hoc de industria a rcgina impeditum, ne . . .' 
 DC Thou.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 387 
 
 wound, for I remember that when the Duke of Guise was 
 killed before Orleans, the surgeons told me that if the ball 
 had been extracted, even though poisoned, his life would not 
 have been in danger." Why did Catherine revert to the 
 duke's murder ? Was it to remind Coligny that he had been 
 suspected of a guilty knowledge of Poltrot's designs, and that 
 the son was but the minister of the father's vengeance ? 
 
 On their way back to the palace, the queen-mother asked 
 Charles to tell her what the admiral had said to him in pri- 
 vate.* At last, annoyed by her importunity, he answered, 
 " short and angrily," with his usual oath : " S'death, madam, 
 the admiral only told me the truth. He said that kings are 
 respected in France only so long as they have the power to 
 reward and punish their subjects, and that the power and 
 administration of the whole realm had slipped into your hands, 
 and that such a state of affairs might one day be prejudicial 
 to me and my kingdom. Of this he wished to warn me, as a 
 faithful servant and subject, before he died. And now you 
 know what the admiral said to me." Anjou and the queen-moth- 
 er were greatly vexed ; but, hiding their feelings, they tried to 
 excuse and justify themselves all the way to the Louvre. 
 Leaving the king in his closet, Anjou went to his mother, 
 whom he found in great agitation, fearing that Coligny's ad- 
 vice would lead to some change in her position, and in the 
 administration of public affairs. Catherine, usually so fertile 
 in resources, was quite confounded: she could 'think of noth- 
 ing, devise nothing that could extricate them from their em- 
 barrassed position ; and the two conspirators separated for 
 the night, hoping that the morrow would bring them the 
 means of deliverance. 
 
 Not long after the royal visitors had left Coligny's room, 
 Ferrers, vidame of Chartres, entered and congratulated the 
 admiral that his enemies dared not assail him openly : " Bless- 
 
 * This is from Anjou's narrative ; bat whether proceeding from him, or 
 De Retz (as some think), there arc no means of testing it.
 
 388 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 ed and happy are you that the memory of your prowess has 
 extended so far." " Nay," replied the wounded man, " I think 
 myself blessed because God has vouchsafed to pour out his 
 mercy upon me ; for they are. rightly happy whose sins God 
 forgiveth." The vidame presently withdrew to a lower room, 
 where the King of Navarre, Conde, and other Huguenot lords 
 had met to consult on the course to be adopted. "Let 
 us arm ourselves and garrison the house ; fbr this is only 
 the beginning of the tragedy," said some. " To horse, and 
 away from Paris," said others ; " and we will take the admi- 
 ral with us." This the physicians * declared to be impossible, 
 unless they wished to kill him outright. The more reason- 
 able gentlemen argued that it would be unwise to do more 
 than demand justice at the king's hands upon the murderers 
 an opinion which Teligny warmly supported. "I know 
 the king's mind thoroughly," he said ; " you will only offend 
 him if you doubt his desire to do justice." For a long while 
 the more violent party would not give way, and at last the 
 meeting broke up without 'coming to any decision farther 
 than that they should consult his majesty, whether the admi- 
 ral should be removed or the Huguenots collect round him. As 
 they marched off in military array through the streets, 
 threatening the Guises, Anjou, the queen-mother, and even the 
 king himself, or thundering out one of the Huguenot psalms, 
 such as they had often sung as a war-song on the eve of battle, 
 the prospect of an armed collision must have struck many 
 thoughtful observers. The position was very dangerous : an 
 explosion might take place at any moment. Indeed, the only 
 do.ub.t among the fiercest spirits of both parties was when to 
 begin. That very evening a body of Huguenot gentlemen, 
 headed by those " stupid clumsy fools " f De Pilles and the 
 Baron of Pardaillan, paraded tumultuousjy through the streets 
 to the Louvre. As they passed before the Hotel de Guise, 
 
 * "II nvait alentour de lui neuf medecins et onze chirurgiens." Mem. 
 de I'fitat de France, ii. 31 b. t La Noue.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 389 
 
 in the Marais,* they shouted loud defiance, flourishing their 
 swords, and some are reported to have discharged their pistols 
 at the windows. When admitted to the presence, while the 
 king was at supper, they fiercely demanded vengeance, and by 
 their looks did not spare Anjou, who was at his brother's 
 side. " If the king refuses us justice," they cried, "we will 
 take the matter into our own hands." 
 
 The night of the 22d was the turning-point of Catherine's 
 policy. The threats of the Huguenots had so alarmed her, 
 that her nerves were quite unstrung ; visions of danger start- 
 ed up before her wherever she turned. Treacherous herself, 
 she may have believed the tales (if they were not of her own 
 invention) of Huguenot conspiracies, which she afterward em- 
 ployed so effectually to exasperate the impetuous king. Her 
 policy of " trimming " no longer seemed possible. Early the 
 next morning Anjou had another interview with his mother. 
 The night had not brought wisdom, but doubt. Catherine 
 still wavered between contending schemes. On one point 
 alone she had made up her mind that the admiral must be 
 got rid of at any sacrifice, now that Maurevel had so unlucki- 
 ly failed.f Had the assassin's bullet struck a vital part, 
 Catherine's trouble would have been at an end.J She had 
 nothing to fear from the Huguenots without a leader : Conde 
 and Navarre were young ; they were in her power, and could 
 do nothing. There might be a street riot between the parti- 
 sans of Guise and of the admiral ; perhaps the duke himself 
 might be killed in the fray. But now, if Maurevel were 
 caught, his employers would be known to a certainty. Had 
 not the rack forced Poltrot to confess ? Then what would 
 become of her beloved Henry, against whom Charles was al- 
 
 * The Hotel de Clisson, afterward de la Misericorde, was purchased by 
 the Duchess of Guise in 1553. The old gate-way forms the entrance to the 
 modern Ecole des Charles. 
 
 t"Le malheur avail voultt que Maurevel nvait failli son coup." Mem. 
 de Jlfarguerite. 
 
 I " Se 1' archibugiata ammazava subito 1' ammiraplio, non mi risolvo a 
 credere che si fosse a un pczzo." Salvinti's letter of August 24.
 
 390 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 ready so violently angered? It was not probable that the 
 Duke of Guise would endure the odium, or silently put up 
 with the king's displeasure. He was too powerful to be 
 made the scape-goat of another's crimes, and was such a favor- 
 ite with the Parisians that to give him up might be perilous 
 to herself and her sons. As she had not strength to control 
 and restrain both parties, she must side with one of them. 
 Yet there was danger either way even had her hands been 
 pure from Coligny's blood. The victory of the Huguenots 
 might lead to the establishment of a republic ; the victory of 
 the Guises (as she afterward learned to her sorrow) might 
 lead to the deposition of her son. There was no escape: 
 Catherine was caught in the meshes of her own crime. Mau- 
 revel's work must be completed. But how? "Ruse and 
 finesse," says Anjou, "were now out of the question." The 
 murder must be done openly. There were serious difficulties in 
 the way. Coligny was under the king's protection, and how 
 could Charles be prevailed upon to sacrifice his " friend and 
 father ?" 
 
 There are three different narratives of the proceedings at 
 the Louvre on Saturday, 23d August. The Calvinist account, 
 given in the " Memoires de 1'Etat de France," may be dis- 
 missed without a word ; Margaret's statements are almost as 
 unreliable ; so that none remains but that which bears the 
 name of the Duke of Anjou. Even with his help it is very 
 difficult to trace the real order of events, or to make his nar- 
 rative coincide with the entries in the register of the City of 
 Paris. One thing alone is clear, that Anjou (or his reporter 
 Miron) is not telling the whole truth. 
 
 In order to escape observation, the queen-mother summon- 
 ed her intimate advisers to meet her at the Tuileries.* The 
 Louvre was too crowded, too open to Huguenot observation ; 
 but in the private gardens of her country house beyond the 
 
 * This meeting is not mentioned in Anjou's narrative ; but there must 
 have been some such preliminary consultation between the conspirators.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 391 
 
 city walls, they could talk without danger. Anjou, Tavannes, 
 Birague, De Retz, and Xevers were present, but of their de- 
 liberations no record exists, and they can only be imagined 
 from the result. They agreed that there was not a moment 
 to be lost. The admiral was out of danger : to-morrow he 
 might be removed beyond their reach. He must be got rid 
 of that very night. If he and five or six other Huguenot 
 chiefs were dispatched, all would be well.* There is a worth- 
 less story of a sort of proscription list having been drawn up, 
 at the head of which stood the names of Henry of Navarre 
 and the Prince of Conde. The younger Tavannes claimed 
 for his father the credit of saving their lives ; but they really 
 owed their safety to the queen-mother, who feared that their 
 deaths would make the Guise party too strong. But nothing 
 could be done without the king's consent, and to obtain that 
 would be no easy matter, for " he was very fond (says Mar- 
 garet) of the admiral, La Rochefoucault, Teligny, La Noue, 
 and other Huguenot leaders, whom he hoped to make use of 
 in Flanders." 
 
 All that Saturday Paris continued in a very restless state. 
 People feared some great catastrophe; and yet their fears 
 took no definite shape. Suspicion was in the air, and the 
 wildest stories were circulated. There was " much huffling 
 and shuffling in the city;" guards had been posted at unusual 
 places, and there was " much carrying to and fro of arms and 
 armor," so that the Huguenots felt it expedient " to consult 
 of the matter betimes, for no good was to be looked for of 
 such turmoiling." There was a great assemblage at the hotel 
 of the Duchess of Guise, and to the Huguenots nothing seem- 
 ed more likely than that the duke would make a sudden at- 
 tack upon Coligny, and finish what had been so inauspicious- 
 ly begun. The admiral's friends accordingly dispatched 
 Cornaton to the king, with a request that his majesty would 
 
 * Catherine afterward asserted that she had desired the death of six men 
 only : " Reginam dictitare se tantiim sex hominum intcrfectorum sanguincm 
 in suam conscientiam rccipere." Scrranus : Status Rei/nthl. x. 20.
 
 392 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 be pleased to order a guard to be posted at the admiral's 
 house. Charles would scarcely believe the messenger, and 
 desired the presence of the queen-mother. Catherine had 
 hardly entered the room when the king, " being in a great 
 chafe," burst out : " What means all this ? This man tells 
 me that my people are in commotion and arming themselves." 
 " They are doing no such thing," she calmly replied ; " you 
 know you gave orders that every man should keep in his own 
 ward, as a security against tumult." " That is true," said 
 Charles, who manifestly did not believe his mother's denial ; 
 " yet I gave charge that no man should take up* arms." The 
 Parisians had been disarmed some time before the court had 
 returned to the Louvre; but the weapons which had been 
 taken away were now being removed from the stores in the 
 arsenal to the Hotel-de-Ville, that they might be ready when 
 needed. If, as the Huguenot narrative implies, this removal 
 of the arms took place in the early part of the day, it may 
 have been an innocent measure of precaution, but its wisdom 
 is doubtful under any circumstances ; if in the latter part of 
 the day, it was probably in connection with the projected mas- 
 sacre. 
 
 Coligny's messenger having repeated the request for a 
 guard, Anjou, who had come in with his mother, said : " Very 
 well, take Cosseins and fifty arquebusiers." " Nay, my lord, 
 it will be enough for us if we have but six of the king's 
 guard with us ; for they will have as much influence over the 
 people as a greater number of soldiers." The king rejoined: 
 " Take Cosseins with you ; you can not have a fitter man." 
 Cosseins was the admiral's mortal enemy ; but he was also at 
 variance with the Guises, and it might have been supposed 
 that in case of any outbreak of the latter, the marshal would 
 not spare them As Cornaton left the presence, Thore, the 
 brother of Marshal Montmorency, whispered in his ear : " You 
 could not have had a more dangerous keeper." " What could I 
 do?" was the rejoinder; "you saw how absolutely the king 
 commanded it. We have committed ourselves to his honor,
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 393 
 
 but you are a witness of my first answer to the king's ap- 
 pointment. A few hours later Cosseins posted his fifty sol- 
 diers in two houses close to the admiral's ; * and orders came 
 from the king other authorities say from the Duke of An- 
 jou commanding the inhabitants to remove out of the street 
 in order to accommodate the friends of Coligny. It is not 
 known how far this order was carried out : probably not at 
 all ; but it has usually been regarded as a very Machiavellian 
 contrivance to get all the Huguenots together, that they might 
 be killed the more easily. On the other hand, by collecting 
 a little Huguenot garrison around him, the admiral would be 
 safer than if he had remained alone in the street. Had there 
 been the slightest resistance at first, the plot would have mis- 
 carried, and neither Anjou nor his mother would have been 
 so weak as to put obstructions in the way of their own suc- 
 cess. 
 
 Meanwhile the government was busily occupied in sending 
 dispatches all over the country and abroad, describing the 
 events of the previous day. It was most important to prevent 
 a rising of the Huguenots, whose suspicions had been so cru- 
 elly confirmed by the attempt on the admiral's life. In order 
 to calm them, the provincial governors and magistrates were 
 directed to assure them that justice should be executed on the 
 perpetrators and abettors of the crime. The letter to D'Es- 
 quilly, governor of Chartres, may be taken as a sample of the 
 whole. In it the king ascribes the attempt to the Guise fac- 
 tion, adding that it arose out of a private quarrel between the 
 two houses of Chatillon and Guise, which he had tried all in 
 his power to arrange. He orders the edict to be observed 
 " as strictly as ever," for fear the recent outrage should pro- 
 voke his subjects to rise against each other, and great massa- 
 
 * It is stated in the Nciistadt letter that the Swiss soldiers of Navarre 
 mounted guard inside the house, while the French guard were posted out- 
 side, immediately after the king's visit on Friday, and that the pass-word 
 was very strict, in order to prevent any fresh attempt on the admiral's life. 
 Archiv.fur Geschichte, etc. xvii. 1826, p. 278.
 
 394 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 cres be perpetrated in the cities, for which he would feel " a 
 
 marvelous regret." * Coligny also wrote to the Protestant 
 churches, desiring them to be calm, for his wounds were not 
 mortal, and the assassins were being pursued. 
 
 During the forenoon of Saturday the Duke of Guise, having 
 heard of the king's angry speeches against him, went to the 
 Louvre with his uncle Aumale, and pretending to fear the vi- 
 olence of the Huguenots, begged his majesty's permission to 
 leave the court for awhile. Charles, scarcely condescending 
 to look at them, bade them begone : " If you are guilty, I shall 
 know where to find you." Collecting his suite together, the 
 duke rode ostentatiously out of one of the gates, and stealthily 
 re-entered by another, keeping himself ready for any emer- 
 gency. 
 
 The commotions in the city were but a faint copy of the 
 tumults by which the bosom of the queen-mother was agi- 
 tated. She had staked every thing upon the hazard of a 
 throw. Nothing farther could be done without the king's 
 consent, and that must be obtained per fas et nefas. Accord- 
 ing to Anjou's evidence, Charles retired into his cabinet aft- 
 er dinner, and, as the dinner-hour was eleven, the time must 
 have been about midday. He was followed by his brother, 
 the queen-mother, Severs, Tavannes, Retz, and Birague. It 
 was an ordinary council meeting, and they assembled to con- 
 sult as to what should be done to preserve tranquillity. Cath- 
 erine immediately began a long story about the Huguenots 
 arming against the king on account of the admiral's wound. 
 " From letters that have been intercepted, I learn that they 
 have sent into Germany for 10,000 reiters and to Switzerland 
 for 6000 foot. Many Huguenot officers have already started 
 for the provinces to raise soldiers, and the mustering-places 
 have been all arranged. Such a force as the Huguenots will 
 soon have under arms, your majesty's troops are not strong 
 enough to resist. Before long the whole kingdom will be in 
 revolt under the pretext of the public good, and, as your 
 * Paris : Cabinet Hist. ii. 259.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 395 
 
 majesty has neither men nor money, I see no place of securi- 
 ty for you in France. . . . Your majesty should also know 
 that a still greater danger threatens your person. They have 
 conspired to place Henry of Navarre on the throne." The latter 
 statement, although supported by Alva's bulletin,* is unworthy 
 of a moment's credit. Margaret's silence is conclusive evi- 
 dence against it. The former statement is equally opposed 
 to the truth. Walsingham writes that Montgomery paid him 
 a visit between nine and ten on Friday night, and told him, 
 " that as he and those of the Reform had just occasion to be 
 right sorry for the admiral's hurt, so had they no less cause to 
 rejoice to see the king so careful [anxious], as well for the 
 curing of the admiral, as also for the searching out of the 
 party that hurt him."f 
 
 The queen-mother continued : " There is another matter of 
 great importance that ought not to be kept from you. The 
 Catholics are thoroughly tired of the long wars, and of being 
 crushed by all sorts of calamities, and they will endure it no 
 longer. They will make an end of this state of things, once 
 for all." 
 
 " What would they have ?" interrupted Charles. " I am 
 as weary of war as any of them, and as determined that my 
 peace shall be kept. What better hope of success have they 
 now than at Moncontour or Jarnac ? I will hang the first 
 man that draws a sword." 
 
 CATHERINE. r But your majesty has not the power; things 
 are gone too far. They have resolved to elect a captain-gen- 
 eral and make a league offensive and defensive against the Hu- 
 guenots. Your majesty will thus stand alone, without power 
 and authority. France will be divided into two great camps, 
 over w T hich you will have no control. There will be danger to 
 all of us, and certain death and destruction to many thousands, 
 all of which may be prevented by a single stroke of the sword. 
 
 KIXG. I do not understand you, ma mdre ; you speak 
 in riddles. 
 
 * Arc/lives de Mans. f Digges, p. 254.
 
 396 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 CATHERINE. To speak plainly, then, we must cut off the 
 head and author of the civil wars. M. de Chatillon must be 
 disposed of. 
 
 At these words the king burst into one of his fits of passion, 
 which so alarmed the council that none of them ventured to 
 interpose a word. The queen-mother allowed Charles to ex- 
 haust himself, and then resumed in her most insinuating man- 
 ner : " The remedy, I confess, is desperate, but there is no other. 
 The Huguenot plans, now ripe for execution, will die with their 
 leader. The Catholics, satisfied by the sacrifice of two or 
 three men, will remain obedient, and all will be well." 
 
 Other arguments were used, to which the king listened 
 moodily, turning from one to another of his councilors, as if 
 to ask whether his mother was speaking the truth. But their 
 trained looks confirmed the cunning tale. Still he was not con- 
 vinced, and once more giving way to a burst of passion, he 
 swore he would not have M. de Chatillon touched : " Woe to 
 any on ewho injures a hair of his head ! He is the only true 
 friend I have ; all the rest are knaves, they are all sold to the 
 Spaniard all, except my brother of Navarre." 
 
 Still the queen-mother did not flinch ; she had too much at 
 stake. " Do what you will," she appears to have said, " the 
 attack on the admiral will be laid at our door, unless M. de 
 Guise is punished, and he is too strong for us at least in Paris. 
 France will again be torn by civil war, and I see but one way of 
 escape. If we must fight, let us strike the blaw at once, while 
 the enemy is still in Paris and unorganized." And probably 
 thinking of Alva's advice nine years before, she added : " If we 
 cut off the chiefs, the others are powerless. We must either 
 have the Guises with us or against us. Our only safety is to 
 call Duke Henry to our side, make him our tool, and . . . 
 (here she paused, as if to watch the effect of her words) . . . 
 and afterward ruin him forever by throwing all the blame upon 
 him." As Charles was still unmoved by such reasoning, and 
 divided between love for Coligny and respect for his mother, 
 he asked the advice of his council. They gave their opinions
 
 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 397 
 
 separately, and all agreed with Catherine, except De Retz, 
 who, to their great astonishment, said : " No man can hate the 
 admiral and his party more than I do ; but I will not, at the 
 expense of the king my master, avenge myself on my private 
 enemies by a counsel so dangerous to him and to his kingdom, 
 and so dishonorable to all. "We shall be taxed with perfidy 
 and disloyalty, and by one act shake all confidence in the faith 
 and word of a king, and consequently of treating afterward 
 for the pacification of the kingdom in the case of future wars. 
 We shall be deceived if we think to escape foreign armies by 
 such a treacherous act, and we shall never see the end of the 
 calamity and ruin it would bring upon us."* This answer quite 
 staggered the queen-mother and her advisers ; but as no one 
 supported De Retz, his opinion had no weight, and that may 
 be why he gave utterance to it. 
 
 Still the king was not convinced : he sat moody and silent, 
 biting his nails as was his wont. He would come to no deci- 
 sion. He asked for proofs, and none were forthcoming, except 
 some idle gossip of the streets and the foolish threats of a few 
 hot-headed Huguenots. Charles had learned to love the ad- 
 miral : could he believe that the gentle Teligny and that Roche- 
 foucault, the companion of his rough sports, were guilty of 
 the meditated plot? He desired to be King of France of 
 Huguenots and Catholics alike not king of a party. Cath- 
 erine, in her despair, employed her last argument. She whis- 
 pered in his ear : " Perhaps, Sire, you are afraid." As if 
 struck by an arrow, he started from his chair. Raving like a 
 madman, he bade them hold their tongues, and with fearful 
 
 * Brantome calls De Retz the first and principal adviser of the deed ; 
 Davila says that he obtained the king's consent to the massacre ; and Mar- 
 garet states that the queen-mother sent him to Charles between nine and 
 ten o'clock at night, " because he (De Retz) had more influence with him," 
 and that he justified his mother and Anjou for trying to get rid of that pest 
 " the admiral." Tavannes partly supports these statements. I give the 
 preference (reluctantly) to Anjou's narrative, because it removes much of 
 the confusion which would otherwise envelop the remainder of this event- 
 ful dav.
 
 398 MASSACRE OP ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 oaths exclaimed, " Kill the admiral if you like, but kill all the 
 Huguenots with him all all all so that not one be left to 
 reproach me hereafter. See to it at once at once ; do you 
 hear ?" * ' And he dashed furiously out of the closet, leaving 
 the conspirators aghast at his violence. 
 
 But there was no time to be lost : the king might change 
 his mind ; the Huguenots might get wind of the plot. The 
 murderous scheme must be carried out that very night, and 
 accordingly the Duke of Guise was summoned to the Louvre. 
 And now the different parts of the tragedy were arranged, 
 Guise undertaking, on the strength of his popularity with the 
 Parisian mob, to lead them to the work of blood. "We may 
 also imagine him begging as a favor the privilege of dispatch- 
 ing the admiral in retaliation for his father's murder. The 
 city was parted out into districts, each of which was assigned 
 to some trusty officer, Marshal Tavannes having the general 
 superintendence of the military arrangements. The conspira- 
 tors now separated, intending to meet again at ten o'clock. 
 Guise went into the city, where he communicated his plans to 
 such of the mob-leaders as could be trusted. lie told them of 
 a bloody conspiracy among the Huguenot chiefs to destroy the 
 king and royal family and extirpate Catholicism ; that a re- 
 newal of war was inevitable, but it was better that war should 
 come in the streets of Paris than in the open field, for the 
 leaders would thus be far more effectually punished and their 
 followers crushed. He affirmed that letters had been inter- 
 cepted in which the admiral had sought the aid of German 
 reiters and Swiss pikemen, and that Montmorency was ap- 
 proaching with 25,000 men to burn the city, as the Huguenots 
 had often threatened. And, as if to give color to this idle 
 story, a small body of cavalry had been seen from the walls in 
 the early part of the day. 
 
 * On this Menselius remarks, that if the account be true, "Ipse (Anjon) 
 cum matre minimc caedis detestandae particeps habendus esset, sed solus rex 
 Carolus eandem animo concessissef.'' Blbliothcca Historica, vii. pars 2*, \\ 
 213. Lipsia;, 1795. Few will agree with the conclusion.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 399 
 
 Such arguments and such falsehoods were admirably adapt- 
 ed to his hearers, who swore to carry out the duke's orders 
 with secrecy and dispatch. " It is the will of our lord the 
 Icing," continued Henry of Guise, " that every good citizen 
 should take up arms to purge the city of that rebel Coligny 
 and his heretical followers. The signal will be given by the 
 great bell of the Palace of Justice. Then let every true Cath- 
 olic tie a white band on his arm and put a white cross on his 
 cap, and begin the vengeance of God." Finding upon inquiry 
 that Le Charron, the provost of the merchants, was too 
 weak and tender-hearted for the work before him, the duke 
 suggested that the municipality should temporarily confer his 
 power on the ex-provost Marcel, a man of a very different 
 stamp. 
 
 About four in the afternoon Anjou rode through the crowd- 
 ed streets in company with his bastard brother Angouleme. 
 lie watched the aspect of the populace, and let fall a few in- 
 sidious expressions in no degree calculated to quiet the turbu- 
 lent passions of the citizens. One account says he distributed 
 money, which is not probable, his afternoon ride being mere- 
 ly a sort of reconnaissance. The journals of the Hotel-de- 
 Ville still attest the anxiety of the court of Catherine and 
 her fellow-conspirators that the massacre should be sweep- 
 ing and complete. " Very late in the evening " it must have 
 been after dark, for the king went to lie down at eight, and 
 did not rise until ten the provost was sent for.* At the 
 Louvre he found Charles, the queen-mother, and the Duke of 
 Anjou, with other princes and nobles, among whom we may 
 safely include Guise, Retz, and Tavannes. The king now re- 
 peated to him the story of a Huguenot plot, which had already 
 beeu whispered abroad by Guise and Anjou, and bade him 
 
 * Juan dc Olacp;ui says that Marcel, " cabeca de los vczinos," was sent 
 for, bat the city registers sny Le Charron. Gachard : 1 ' 'articulariles inedites 
 in Bull. Arud. Sci. Bruxelles, xvi. 1849, p. 23">. If the " an soir bien tard " 
 of Anjou's narrative means "late in the afternoon," there were probably 
 two meetings, at the latter of which Marcel was present.
 
 400 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 shut the gates of the city, so that no one could pass in or out, 
 and take possession of the keys. He was also to draw up all 
 the boats on the river-bank and chain them together, to re- 
 move the ferry, to muster under arms the able-bodied men of 
 each ward under their proper officers, and hold them in read- 
 iness at the usual mustering-places to receive the orders of 
 his majesty. The city artillery, w r hich does not appear to 
 have been so formidable as the word would imply, was to be 
 stationed at the Greve to protect the Hotel-de-Ville, or for 
 any other duty required of it. With these instructions the 
 provost returned to the Hotel-de-Ville, where he spent great 
 part of the night in preparing the necessary orders, which 
 were issued " very early the next morning." * There is rea- 
 son for believing that these measures were simply precautions 
 in case the Huguenots should resist, and a bloody struggle 
 should have to be fought in the streets of the capital. The 
 municipality certainly took no part in the earlier massacres, 
 whatever they may have done later. Tavannes complains of 
 the " want of zeal " in some of the citizens, and Brantome ad- 
 mits that " it was necessary to threaten to hang some of the 
 laggards." 
 
 That evening the king had supped in public, and the hours 
 being much earlier than with us, the time was probably be- 
 tween six and seven. The courtiers admitted to witness the 
 meal appear to have been as numerous as ever, Huguenots as 
 well as Catholics, victims and executioners. Charles, who re- 
 tired before eight o'clock, kept Francis, Count of La Roche- 
 foucault, with him for some time, as if unwilling to part with 
 him. " Do not go," he said ; " it is late. "We will sit and 
 talk all night." " Excuse me, Sire, I am tired and sleepy." 
 " You must stay ; you can sleep with my valets." But as 
 Charles was rather too fond of rough practical jokes, the count 
 still declined, and went away, suspecting no evil, to pay his 
 
 * " Envoicz et portcz . . . de fort grand matin." Registres in Cimbcr's 
 Archives Curieuses.
 
 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 401 
 
 usual evening visit to the dowager Princess of Conde. He 
 must have remained some time in her apartments, for it was 
 past twelve o'clock when he went to bid Xavarre good-night. 
 As he was leaving the palace, a man stopped him at the foot 
 of the stairs, and whispered in his ear. When the stranger 
 left, La Rochefoucault bade Mergey, one of his suite, to whom 
 we are indebted for these particulars, return and tell Henry 
 that Guise and Xevers were about the city. During Mergey's 
 brief absence, something more appears to have been told the 
 count, for he returned up stairs with Xancay, captain of the 
 guard, who, lifting the tapestry which closed the entrance to 
 Xavarre's antechamber, looked for some time at the gentle- 
 men within, some playing at cards or dice, others talking. At 
 last he said : " Gentlemen, if any of you wish to retire, you 
 must do so at once, for we are going to shut the gates." No 
 one moved, as it would appear, for at Charles's express desire, 
 it is said which is scarcely probable these Huguenot gen- 
 tlemen had gathered round the King of Xavarre to protect 
 him against any outrage of the Guises.* In the court-yard 
 Mergey found the guard under arms. " M. Rambouillet, who 
 loved me (he continues) was sitting by. the wicket, and as I 
 passed out, he took my hand, and with a piteous look said : 
 ' Adieu, Mergey ; adieu, my friend.' Xot daring to say more, 
 as he told me afterward." 
 
 In the apartments of the queen-mother all was not equally 
 calm. Margaret had no suspicion of the terrible tragedy that 
 was preparing. "The Huguenots," she writes in her Mem- 
 oirs, " suspected me because I was a Catholic, and the Catho- 
 lics doubted me, because I had married the King of Xavarre: 
 so that between them both I knew nothing of the coming en- 
 terprise." She was sitting by her sister Claude, who appear- 
 ed pensive and sorrowful, when her mother ordered her to re- 
 
 * Reveille-Matin. Mnrgnrct, writing twenty-four years after the event, 
 says that Henry, hy the king's advice, had invited them to the Lonvre, where 
 they would be safer in case of tumult. I give the preference to her state- 
 ment. 
 
 Cc
 
 402 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 tire to her own room. She rose, and was about to obey, when 
 the Duchess of Lorraine caught her by the arm, exclaiming : 
 " Sister, for the love of God, do not leave us." Catherine 
 sternly rebuked the duchess, and bade her be silent; but 
 Claude, with true sisterly affection, would not let Margaret 
 go. " It is a shame," she said, " to send her to be sacrificed, 
 for if any thing is discovered, they [meaning the Catholics] 
 will be sure to avenge themselves upon her." Still Catherine 
 insisted : " No harm will befall the Queen of Navarre, and it 
 is my pleasure that she retire to her own apartments, lest 
 her absence should create suspicion." Claude kissed her sis- 
 ter, and bade her good-night with tears in her eyes. " I de- 
 parted, alarmed and amazed," continues Margaret, " unable to 
 discover what I had to dread." She found her husband's 
 apartments filled with Huguenot gentlemen. " All night 
 long," says Margaret, " they continued talking of the accident 
 that had befallen the admiral, declaring that they would go 
 to the king as soon as it was light, and demand justice on the 
 Duke of Guise, and if it were not granted, they would take it 
 into their own hands. ... I could not sleep for fear," she 
 continues ; but when day-light came, and her husband had 
 gone out with the Huguenot gentlemen to the tennis-court, to 
 wait for his majesty's rising, she fell off into a sound slumber. 
 Coligny's hotel had been crowded all day by visitors ; the 
 Queen of Navarre had paid him a visit, and most of the gen- 
 tlemen in Paris, Catholic as well as Huguenot, had gone to 
 express their sympathy. For the Frenchman is a gallant en- 
 emy, and respects brave men ; and the foul attempt upon the 
 admiral, -whom they had so often encountered on the battle- 
 field, was felt as a personal injury. A council had been held 
 that day, at which the propriety of removing in a body from 
 Paris and carrying the admiral with them, had again been 
 discussed. Navarre and Conde opposed the proposition, and 
 it was finally resolved to petition the king " to order all the 
 Guisians out of Paris, because they had too much sway with 
 the people of the town." One Bouchavannes, a traitor, was
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 403 
 
 among them, greedily listening to every word, which he re- 
 ported to Anjou, strengthening him in his determination to 
 make a clean sweep that very night. 
 
 As the evening came on, the admiral's visitors took their 
 leave. Teligny, his son-in-law, was the last to quit his bed- 
 side. To the question whether the admiral would like any of 
 them to keep watch in his house during the night, he answer- 
 ed, says the contemporary biographer, " that it was labor more 
 than needed, and gave them thanks with very loving words." 
 It was after midnight when Teligny and Guerchy departed, 
 leaving Ambrose Pare and Pastor Merlin * with the wounded 
 man. There were besides in the house two of his gentlemen, 
 Cornaton (afterward his biographer) and La Bonne ; his 
 squire Yolet, five Switzers belonging to the King of Na- 
 varre's guard, and about as many domestic servants. It was 
 the last night on earth for all except two of that household. 
 
 * Mr. Froude (x. 397) writes Malin, which is probably a misprint.
 
 iO-i MASSAGES OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 THE FESTIVAL OF BLOOD. 
 
 [August and September, 1572.] 
 
 The Huguenot Gentleman Killed Midnight at the Louvre Charles still 
 hesitates The Conspirators at the window The pistol-shot Guise re- 
 called too late Scene at Coligny's Hotel The assault and murder In- 
 dignities Montfau9on Scene at the Louvre Queen Margaret's alarm 
 Proclamations Salviati's letter List of Atrocities Death of Ramus 
 and La Place Charles fires upon the Fugitives Escape of Montgomery, 
 Sully, Duplessis-Mornay, Caumont The Miracle of the White Thorn 
 Charles conscience-stricken Thanksgiving and Justification Execution 
 of Briquemaut and Cavaignes Abjuration of Henry and Conde'. 
 
 IT is strange that the arrangements in the city, which must 
 have been attended with no little commotion, did not rouse 
 the suspicion of the Huguenots. Probably, in their blind con- 
 fidence, they trusted implicitly in the king's word that these 
 movements of arms and artillery, these postings of guards and 
 midnight musters, were intended to keep the Guisian faction 
 in order. There is a story that some gentlemen, aroused by 
 the measured tread of soldiers and the glare of torches for 
 no lamps then lit up the streets of Paris went out-of-doors 
 and asked what it meant. Receiving an unsatisfactory reply, 
 they proceeeded to the Louvre, where they found the outer 
 court filled with armed men, who, seeing them without the 
 white cross and the scarf, abused them as " accursed Hugue- 
 nots," whose turn would come next. One of them, who re- 
 plied to this insolent threat, was immediately run through 
 with a spear. This, if the incident be true, occurred about one 
 o'clock on Sunday morning, 24th August, the festival of St. 
 Bartholomew. 
 
 Shortly after midnight the queen-mother rose and went to
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 405 
 
 the king's chamber,* attended only by one lady, the Duchess 
 of Nemours, whose thirst for revenge was to be satisfied at 
 last.f She found Charles pacing the room in one of those fits 
 of passion which he at times assumed to conceal his infirmity 
 of purpose. At one moment he swore he would raise the Hu- 
 guenots, and call them to protect their sovereign's life as well 
 as their own. Then he burst out into violent imprecations 
 against his brother Anjou, who had entered the room but did 
 not dare say a word. Presently the other conspirators ar- 
 rived : Guise, Nevers, Birague, De Retz, and Tavannes. Cath- 
 erine alone ventured to interpose, and in a tone of sternness 
 well calculated to impress the mind of her weak son, she de- 
 clared that there was now no turning back : " It is too late to 
 retreat, even were it possible. We must cut off the rotten 
 limb, hurt it ever so much. If you delay, you will lose the 
 finest opportunity God ever gave man of getting rid of his en- 
 emies at a blow." And then, as if struck with compassion 
 for the fate of her victims, she repeated in a low tone as if 
 talking to herself the words of a famous Italian preacher, 
 which she had often been heard to quote before : " ~& la pieta- 
 lor ser crudele, e la crudelta lor ser pietosa " (Mercy would be 
 cruel to them, and cruelty merciful). Catherine's resolution 
 again prevailed over the king's weakness, and the final orders 
 being given, the Duke of Guise quitted the Louvre, followed 
 by two companies of arquebusiers and the whole of Anjou's 
 guard. 
 
 As soon as Guise had left, the chief criminals each afraid 
 to lose sight of the other, each needing the presence of the 
 other to keep his courage up went to a room adjoining the 
 tennis-court overlooking the Place Bassecour.J Of all the 
 
 *Favyn (Hist. Navarre, p. 8G7) says that after supper, "nbout eleven 
 o'clock," the king went down to his forge with Navarre, Conde', and others, 
 where they all worked as usual, until between one and two, when the tocsin 
 was rung. 
 
 t The Reveille-Matin and the Mm. jZtat de France say, "attended only by 
 a fille-de-chambre." 
 
 J " Ainsi qtte le jour commen9ait & poindre." Now as the sun rose that
 
 406 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 party, Charles, Catherine, Anjou, and De Retz, Charles was 
 the least guilty and the most to be pitied. They went to the 
 window, anxiously listening for the signal that the work of 
 death had begun. Their consciences, no less than their im- 
 patience, made it impossible for them to sit calmly within the 
 palace. Anjou's narrative continues : " While we were pon- 
 dering over the events and the consequences of such a mighty 
 enterprise, of which (to tell the truth) we had not thought 
 much until then, we heard a pistol-shot. The sound produced 
 such an effect upon all three of us, that it confounded our 
 senses and deprived us of judgment. We were smitten with 
 terror and apprehension of the great disorders about to be 
 perpetrated." Catherine, who was a timid woman (adds 
 Tavannes), would willingly have recalled her orders, and with 
 that intent hastily dispatched-**- gentleman to the Duke of 
 Guise, expressly desiring him to return and attempt nothing 
 against the admiral.* " It is too late," was the answer brought 
 back: "the admiral is dead" a statement at variance with 
 other accounts. " Thereupon," continues Anjou, " we return- 
 ed to our former deliberations, and let things take their 
 course." 
 
 Between three and four o'clock in the morning, the noise 
 of horses and the measured tramp of foot-soldiers broke the 
 silence of the narrow street in which Coliguy lay wounded. 
 It was the murderers seeking their victim : they were Henry 
 of Guise with his uncle the Duke of Aumale, the Bastard of 
 Angouleme, and the Duke of Nevers, with other foreigners, 
 Italian and Swiss, namely, Fesinghi (or Tosinghi) and his 
 nephew Antonio, Captain Petrucci, Captain Studer of Wink- 
 elbach with his soldiers, Martin Koch of Freyberg, Conrad 
 Burg,f Leonard Grunenfelder of Glaris, and Carl D*ianowitz, 
 
 <lay at five o'clock, this would make it a little after four, which does not 
 harmonize with other statements. 
 
 * We must remember that Anjou is vindicating himself, and that his nar- 
 rative, like the confession of a criminal, endeavors to extenuate his crime. 
 
 t According to Burg, he, Koch, and Grunefelder were the admiral's mur-
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 407 
 
 surnamed Behm (the Bohemian?). There were besides one 
 Captain Attin, in the household of Aumale, and Sarlabous, a 
 renegade Huguenot and commandant of Havre. It is well 
 to record the names even of these obscure individuals who 
 stained their hands in the best blood of France. De Cos- 
 seins, too, was there with his guard, some of whom he posted 
 with their arquebuses opposite the windows of Coligny's ho- 
 tel, that none might escape. 
 
 Presently there was a loud knock at the outer gate : " Open 
 in the king's name." La Bonne, imagining it to be a message 
 from the Louvre, hastened with the keys, withdrew the bolt, 
 and was immediately butchered by the assassins who rushed 
 into the house. The alarmed domestics ran half awake to see 
 what was the uproar : some were killed outright, others es- 
 caped up stairs, closing the door at the foot and placing some 
 furniture against it. This feeble barrier was soon broken 
 down, and the Swiss who had attempted to resist were shot. 
 The tumult woke Coligny from his slumbers, and divining 
 what it meant that Guise had made an attack on the house 
 he was lifted from his bed, and folding his robe-de-chambre 
 round him, sat down prepared to meet his fate.* Cornaton 
 entering the room at this moment, Ambrose Pare asked him 
 what was the meaning of the noise. Turning to his beloved 
 master, he replied : " Sir, it is God calling us to himself. They 
 have broken into the house, and we can do nothing." " I 
 have been long prepared to die," said the admiral. " But you 
 must all flee for your lives, if it be not too late ; you can not 
 save me. I commit my soul to God's mercy." They obeyed 
 
 dercrs ; he docs not mention Dianowitz. " At unus [M.K.] e tribus auda- 
 cior bipenni (i. e., halberd) ilium miscrum transfixit, tcrtio ipse [C.B.] cum 
 graviter percussit, itaque septimo tactus tandem (mirum !) in caminum ce- 
 cidit" Letter of August 26, from Joachim Opserus, then at the College of 
 Clermont, to the Abbot of St. Gall. Archives de mist. Suisse, Zurich, ii. 
 1827. The Neustadt letter does not corroborate this account. 
 
 * The Neustadt letter says the admiral was in bed, pretending to be 
 asleep: "Danach wider zu Beth gelegt, und schlaffendt angenomen, dan er 
 woll gedacht cs wurde ime ietzo geltcn." P. 279.
 
 iOS MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 him, but only two succeeded in making their way over the 
 roofs. Pastor Merlin lay hid for three days in a loft, where 
 he was fed by a hen, who every morning laid an egg within 
 his reach.* 
 
 Pare and Coligny were left alone Coligny looking as calm 
 and collected as if no danger impended. After a brief inter- 
 val of suspense the door was dashed open, and Cosseins, wear- 
 ing a corslet and brandishing a bloody sword in his hand, en- 
 tered the room, followed by Behm, Sarlabous and others, a 
 party of Anjou's Swiss guard, in their tricolored uniform of 
 black, white, and green, keeping in the rear. Expecting re- 
 sistance, the ruffians were for a moment staggered at seeing 
 only two unarmed men. But his brutal instincts rapidly re- 
 gaining the mastery, Behm stepped forward, and pointing his 
 sword at Coligny's breast, asked : " Are you not the admiral ?" 
 He replied : " I am ; but, young man, you should respect my 
 grey hairs,f and not attack a wounded man. Yet what mat- 
 ters it ? You can not shorten my life except by God's per- 
 mission." The German soldier, uttering a blasphemous oath, 
 plunged his sword into the admiral's breast. 
 
 Jugulnmque parans, immota tcncbat 
 Ora scncx.J 
 
 Others in the room struck him also, Behm repeating his 
 blows until the admiral fell on the floor. The murderer now 
 ran to the window and shouted into the court-yard : " It is all 
 over." Henry of Guise, who had been impatiently ordering 
 his creatures to make haste, was not satisfied. "Monsieur 
 d'Angouleme will not believe it unless he sees him," returned 
 the duke. Behm raised the body from the ground, and 
 
 *A similar story too well founded on the traditions of Wiirtemberg 
 to admit of doubt is told of the reformer Brenz (Brentius) ; but in his 
 case the period during which the hen supplied him with food was eight 
 days. 
 
 t "Tencd piedadde la vejez," writes Olaegui. 
 
 J Beza : Mors Ciccronis. 
 
 Juan dc Olaegui says that Guise " le dio un pistoletazo en la cabeza," 
 and then flung him from the window. This is probably the pistol-shot which
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 409 
 
 dragged it to the window to throw it out ; but life was not 
 quite extinct, and the admiral placed his foot against the wall, 
 faintly resisting the attempt.* " Is it so, old fox ?" exclaimed 
 the murderer, who drew his dagger and stabbed him several 
 times. Then assisted by Sarlabous, he threw the body down. 
 It was hardly to be recognized. The Bastard of Angouleme 
 the chevalier as he is called in some of the narratives 
 wiped the blood from the face of the corpse. " Yes, it is he ; 
 I know him well," said Guise, kicking the body as he spoke.f 
 " "Well done, my men," he continued, " we have made a good 
 beginning. Forward by the king's command." He mount- 
 ed his horse and rode out of the court-yard, followed by 
 Nevers, who cynically exclaimed as he looked at the body : 
 Sic transit gloria mundi. Tosinghi took the chain of gold 
 the insignia of his office from the admiral's neck, and 
 Pctrucci, a gentleman in the train of the Duke of Nevers, cut 
 off the head and carried it away carefully to the Louvre. J Of 
 
 so alarmed the royal murderers at the Louvre, though another report (Alva's 
 Bulletin) says it was fired at the body as it lay dead in the court-yard. The 
 Neustadt letter represents Coligny as struggling vigorously against four 
 Swiss soldiers (das irer vier kiimmerlich ime bezwingcn mogtcn), and that 
 a, French soldier killed him by shooting him in the mouth. Behm was re- 
 warded with the hand of a natural daughter of Cardinal Lorraine, and 
 Philip II. gave him COOO scudi (ostensibly as a dowry) for his life. See 
 Pctrucci's letter (September 1C, 1572), in Aiberi, Vita di Caterina, p. 149. 
 In 1575 he was captured by the Huguenots near Jarnac, as he was return- 
 ing from Spain, and put to death. 
 
 * Alva's Bulletin. Tavannes says: "embrasse la fenetre;" Scrranus : 
 "brachio fenestra columnam complectitur, ibi acceptis aliquot vulneribus." 
 
 t It is uncertain to whom the disgrace of this last indignity attaches, some 
 imputing the cowardly act to Angouleme. Alva, who was instructed by 
 Gomicourt, says Guise did it ; so also the Journal <k Henri III. : "Lc rci 
 donna un coup de pied . . . ainsi quo le Due de Guise en avait donne' an 
 feu amiral," p. 118. (Cologne, 1672.) 
 
 J The Neustadt letter says it was cut off for the sake of the reward : 
 " damit noch 2000 Kronen zu gcwinnen." Alva says : " la mettant au bout 
 de son e"pee, la portait par la villc, criant, Voilh, la tete d'un me'chant." 
 Bulletin, p. 563. He adds the body was torn in pieces by the mob, so that 
 "jamais on n'en sut recouvrer piece." At the time Gomicourt wrote to 
 Alva, it was not known what had become of it.
 
 410 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 all who were found in the house, not one was spared, except 
 Ambrose Pare, who was escorted in safety to the palace by a 
 detachment of An j oil's guard.* 
 
 Thus died, in the fifty-sixth year of his age,f one of the no- 
 blest men of whom France, so rich in great men, can boast. 
 His character has been described in his actions. In stature 
 he was of middle height, of ruddy complexion, and well pro- 
 portioned. His countenance was serene, his voice soft and 
 pleasant, but his utterance was rather slow. His habits were 
 temperate : he drank but little wine, and ate sparingly. He 
 had been blessed with five children: Louisa, who married 
 Teligny, and afterward William of Orange, ancestor of our 
 William III. ; Francis and Odet, who escaped the massacre ; 
 Charles, who fell a victim in the general massacre ; his other 
 son had died in battle. A posthumous daughter was born to 
 him, of whose fate nothing is known. 
 
 Le Laboureur, a Catholic priest, says of Coligny : " He 
 was one of the greatest men France ever produced, and I 
 venture to say farther, one of the most attached to his 
 country." The papal legate Santa Croce describes him as 
 "remarkable for his prudence and coolness. His manners 
 were severe ; he always appeared serious and absorbed in 
 his meditations. His eloquence was weighty. He Avas skill- 
 ed in Latin and divinity, and he grew in people's love the 
 more they knew his frankness and devotedness to his friends." 
 He never told a lie (minime mentiretur) ; but then, adds 
 the legate, " he had no pretensions to refined manners, 
 and always kept a straw in his mouth to clean his teeth 
 with."! 
 
 * Malgaigne, the latest biographer of Pare', does not believe the tradition 
 that the great surgeon was specially saved from massacre, and denies that 
 he was a Huguenot. 
 
 t Some writers make him two or three years younger. 
 
 J De Civilibus Galilee dissentionibns, lib. 2, Nos. 39 and 52, apud Martene, 
 Veter. Script, torn. v. 1459. Jacques Coppier, in a versified pamphlet on 
 the massacre, called the Deluge des Huguenots, calls the admiral "Cc grand 
 Caspar au curedent."
 
 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 411 
 
 II est mort toutefois, non au combat vaincti, 
 Non en guerre surprins, non par ruze de'ceu, 
 
 Non pour avoir trahi son roy oil sa province ; 
 Mais bien pour aymer trop le repos des Fran9oys, 
 Servir Dieu purement, et reve'rer ses loix, 
 
 Et pour s'estre fie de la foy de son Prince.* 
 
 Coligny's headless trunk was left for some hours where it 
 fell, until it became the sport of rabble children, who dragged 
 it all round Paris. They tried to burn it, but did little more 
 than scorch and blacken the remains, which were first thrown 
 into the river, and then taken out again " as unworthy to be 
 food for fish," says Claude Haton. In accordance with the 
 old sentence of the Paris Parliament, it was dragged by the 
 hangman to the common gallows at Montfauyon,! and there 
 hung up by the heels.J All the court went to gratify their 
 eyes with the sight, and Charles, unconsciously imitating the 
 language of Vitellius, said, as he drew near the offensive 
 corpse, " The smell of a dead enemy is always sweet." || The 
 body was left hanging for a fortnight, or more, after which it 
 was privily taken down by the admiral's cousin, Marshal 
 Montmorency, and it now rests, after many removals, in a wall 
 
 * Harleian MSS. No. 1625. In the Complainte et Reyretz du G. de C. 
 (Paris, 1572) the dead admiral is supposed to express his regret: "J'ai 
 honni ma maison en trahissant la France Et ruine les miens par mon out- 
 recuidancc." See also another abusive pamphlet : Le JJtscours sur la Mart 
 du G. de C., Paris. 
 
 t Coryat (p. 1C) describes it as "the fairest gallows" he ever saw. It 
 was on a hill, and consisted of fourteen pillars of freestone, and was " made 
 in the time of the Guisian massacre to hang the admiral." In this he is 
 wrong ; other authorities reckon sixteen pillars on a stone platform, tied to- 
 gether by two rows of beams. The bodies were left n prey to beasts and 
 birds ; and the bones fell into fi charnel where the filth of the streets was 
 shot. Le Gibet deM. by Firmin-Maillard, 18mo. Paris, 18G3; Des Ancien- 
 nes fourches patibulaires de M., by M. de la Villegille, Paris, 1836. 
 
 J "After the massacre his body was exposed with the eternal tooth-pick in 
 his mouth." Edinb. J\ei:iew, cxxiv. 18C6, p. 369. This is a mistake, the body 
 was headless." 
 
 " Gravcolentiam scilicet hostilium cadaverum, quibusvis odoribus et pig- 
 mentis essc sibi fragrantiorem." 
 
 || Even Brantome is disgusted : he says the smell is certainly not sweet ; 
 " point bonne, et la parole aussi mauvaise."
 
 112 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 among the ruins of his hereditary castle of Chatillon-sur- 
 Loing. What became of the head no one knows. It was in- 
 tended to be sent to Rome as a peace-offering to the pope ; 
 but it probably never got farther than Lyons, Mandelot, the 
 governor of that city, having received orders to stop the 
 messenger one of Guise's servants and take it away. 
 What can have been the king's object ? Was he conscience- 
 stricken, and did he repent of the foul indignities offered to 
 the man for whom he had once professed such love? Or 
 was he jealous of the credit Duke Henry might acquire by 
 laying the arch-Huguenot's head at the feet of the holy 
 father? All that appears certain is that the head never 
 reached Rome. The Abbe Caveyrac states that he saw 
 fragments of a skull in a coffin at Chatillon containing the 
 admiral's remains ; but, accepting the abbe's testimony as to 
 what he saw, it by no means follows that the bones were a 
 part of Coligny's head. 
 
 When Guise left the admiral's corpse lying in the court- 
 yard, he went to the adjoining house in which Teligny lived. 
 All the inmates were killed, but he escaped by the roof. 
 Twice he fell into the hands of the enemy, and twice he 
 was spared ; he perished at last by the sword of a man who 
 knew not his amiable inoffensive character.* His neigh- 
 bor La Rochefoucault was perhaps more fortunate in his fate. 
 He had hardly fallen asleep, when he was disturbed by the 
 noise in the street. He heard shouts and the sound of many 
 footsteps ; and scarcely awake and utterly unsuspicious, he 
 went to his bedroom door at the first summons in the king's 
 name. He seems to have thought that Charles, indulging 
 in one of his usual mad frolics, had come to punish him, as he 
 
 * The Neustadt letter says that Teligny offered to ransom his life for 1000 
 crowns, which the captain agreed to accept if Guise would permit him. "I 
 am a poor fellow, and 1000 will be of great use to me." "You are a 
 fool," answered the duke; "don't you think the king will reward you lie-t- 
 ier?" Teligny and his wife were poniarded. Tel'gny's wife was?io/ killed : 
 she afterward married William of Orange.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 413 
 
 had punished others, like school-boys. lie opened the door 
 and fell dead across the threshold, pierced by a dozen weap- 
 ons. 
 
 When the messenger returned from the Duke of Guise with 
 the answer that it was " too late," Catherine, fearing that such 
 disobedience to the royal commands might incense the king 
 and awaken him to a sense of ah 1 the horrors that were about 
 to be perpetrated in his name, privately gave orders to antici- 
 pate the hour.* Instead of waiting until the matin-bell should 
 ring out from the old clock-tower of the Palace of Justice, she 
 directed the signal to be given from the nearer belfry of St. 
 Germain 1'Auxerrois.f As the harsh sound rang through the 
 air of that warm summer night, J it was caught up and echoed 
 from tower to tower, rousing all Paris from their slumbers. 
 
 Immediately from every quarter of that ancient city up- 
 rose a tumult as of hell. The clanging bells, the crashing 
 doors, the musket-shots, the rush of armed men, the shrieks 
 of their victims, and high over all the yells of the mob, fiercer 
 and more pitiless than hungry wolves made such an uproar 
 that the stoutest hearts shrank appalled, and the sanest appear 
 to have lost their reason. Women unsexed, men wanting 
 every thing but the strength of the wild beast, children with- 
 out a single charm of youth or innocence, crowded the streets 
 where the rising day still struggled with the glare of a thou- 
 sand torches. |[ They smelled the odor of blood, and thirsting 
 
 At furiis agitata novis reglna supcrba 
 Signa cani properat, venture nuneia coedis, 
 Ne regis mutata loco sententia ccdat. 
 
 Tmyica Itistoria de miseranda lantena, by R. Fresner, Emdas, 1583. 
 + The tower on the Quai de 1'Horloge, pointed out to strangers as that 
 from which the signal was given, is of later date. 
 
 J "A las iij horas dc la manana." Olaegui. Beza's account would 
 place it a little later. " C'etait au point du jour." Mem. de VKtat de France, 
 i. 217. 
 
 Jean de Gorris, years after his conversion, was so terrified at seeing his 
 litter surrounded by soldiers, whom he imagined about to repeat the heresies 
 of the Saint Bartholomew, that he was struck with paralysis. 
 || The sun rose at 5h. 6m. on August 24.
 
 414 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 to indulge their passions for once with impunity, committed 
 horrors that have become the marvel of history. 
 
 Within the walls of the Louvre, within the hearing of 
 Charles and his mother, if not actually within their sight, one 
 of the foulest scenes of this detestable tragedy was enacted. 
 At day-break, says Queen Margaret of Navarre,* her husband 
 rose to go and play at tennis, with a determination to be pres- 
 ent at the king's lever, and demand justice for the assault on 
 the admiral. He left his apartment, accompanied by the Hu- 
 guenot gentlemen who had kept watch around him during the 
 night. At the foot of the stairs he was arrested,f while the 
 gentlemen with him were disarmed, apparently without any 
 attempt at resistance. A list of them had been carefully 
 drawn up, which the Sire d'O, quartermaster of the Guards, 
 read out. As each man answered to his name, he stepped 
 into the court-yard, where he had to make his way through a 
 double line of Swiss mercenaries. Sword, spear, and halberd 
 made short work of them, and two hundred J (according to 
 Davila) of the best blood of France soon lay a ghastly pile be- 
 neath the windows of the palace. Charles (it is said) looked 
 on coldly at the horrid deed,|| the victims appealing in vain to 
 
 * There are great difficulties in fixing the time of this murderous scene. 
 Davila and the Neustadt letter (p. 272) place it before the ringing of the 
 tocsin, that is to say, before day-light ; while it is hard to believe that Mar- 
 garet could be mistaken, or that the murders were committed after the toc- 
 sin. Probably it was a little after four o'clock, as from an experiment 
 made last 24th August, it would not have been possible to distinguish the 
 king's features earlier. 
 
 t The Neustadt letter says the night was far advanced (folgentz spadt in 
 derNacht) when the king sent for Henry, after which the Duke of Bouillon 
 posted the soldiers told off to murder the Huguenot gentlemen. 
 
 % Margaret says thirty or forty, which is more probable. 
 
 French history has an unfortunate habit of repeating itself in its worst 
 characteristics: " He is at the outer gate, conducted into a howling sea ; 
 forth under an arch of wild sabres, axes, and pikes ; and sinks hewn asunder. 
 And another sinks, and another, and there forms a piled heap of corpses, 
 and the kennels were red." Carlyle : French Revolution (September 4-G, 
 1792), pt. 3, bk. 1. 
 
 || Etat Je Fr. i. 200 I ; at ii. 25. Henry of Navarre is said to have wit- 
 nessed the murders.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 415 
 
 his mercy. Among the gentlemen they murdered were the 
 two who had been boldest in their language to the king not 
 many hours before : Segur, Baron of Pardaillan, and Armand 
 de Clermont, Baron of Pilles, who with stentorian voices called 
 upon the king to be true to his word. De Pilles took off his 
 rich cloak and offered it to some one whom he recognized : 
 " Here is a present from the hand of De Pilles, basely and 
 traitorously murdered." "I am not the man you take me 
 for," said the other, refusing the cloak.* The Swiss plun- 
 dered their victims as they fell ; and pointing to the heap of 
 half-naked bodies, described them to the spectators as the men 
 who had conspired to kill the king and all the royal family in 
 their sleep, and make France a republic.f But more disgrace- 
 ful even than this massacre was the conduct of some of the 
 ladies in Catherine's train, of her "flying squadron," who, 
 later in the day, inspected and laughed J at the corpses as they 
 lay stripped in the court-yard, being especially curious about 
 the body of Soubise, from whom his wife had sought to be 
 divorced on the ground of nullity of marriage. 
 
 A few gentlemen succeeded in escaping from this slaughter. 
 Margaret, " seeing it was day-light," and imagining the danger 
 past of which her sister had told her, fell asleep. But her 
 slumbers were soon rudely broken. " An hour later," she con- 
 tinues, " I was awoke by a man knocking at the door and call- 
 ing, Navarre! Navarre! The nurse, thinking it was my hus- 
 band, ran and opened it. It was a gentleman named Leran, 
 who had received a sword-cut in the elbow and a spear-thrust 
 in the arm; four soldiers were pursuing him, and they all 
 
 * Dlscours simple et veritable, p. 36. Only two days before this, Charles 
 nnd De Pilles had bathed together in tbe Seine, the latter holding the king's 
 chin nnd teaching bim how to swim. Brantomc: Iloin. III. x. p. 193. 
 
 t De furoiibus Gallicis ; Reveille-Matin, etc. 
 
 % " Non sine magno et cff'uso risu.' 1 Scrranus. 
 
 Tho name of this individual is not of importance ; but he is called Lerac 
 by Brantome, and Teyran by Mongez. Hist. Mary, de Valois. He was 
 probably Gabriel de Levia, Viscount of Leran, the " Lciranus" of De Thou, 
 and Lcyran of Laval and Pigucrre.
 
 416 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 rushed into my chamber after him. Wishing to save his life, 
 lie threw himself upon my bed. Finding myself clasped in 
 his arms, I got out on the other side, he followed me, still 
 clinging to me. I did not know the man, and could not tell 
 whether he came to insult me, or whether the soldiers were 
 after him or me. We both shouted out, being equally fright- 
 ened. At last, by God's mercy, Captain de ISTanyay of the 
 Guards came in, and seeing me in this condition, could not 
 help laughing, although commiserating me. Severely repri- 
 manding the soldiers for their indiscretion, he turned them 
 out of the room, and granted me the life of the poor man who 
 still clung to me. I made him lie down and had his wounds 
 dressed in my closet, until he was quite cured. While changing 
 my night-dress, which was all covered with blood, the captain 
 told me what had- happened, and assured me that my husband 
 was with the king and quite unharmed. He then conducted 
 me 'to the room of my sister of Lorraine, which I reached 
 more dead than alive. As I entered the anteroom, the doors 
 of which were open, a gentleman named Bourse, running from 
 the soldiers who pursued him, was pierced by a halberd three 
 paces 'from me. I fell almost fainting into Captain de Nan- 
 9ay's arms, imagining the same thrust had pierced us both. 
 Being ' somewhat recovered, I entered the little room w r here 
 my sister slept. While there, M. de Miossans, my husband's 
 first - gentleman, and Armagnac, his first valet-de-chambre, 
 came and begged me to save their lives. I went and threw 
 myself at the feet of the king and the queen my mother to ask 
 the favor, which at last they granted me." 
 
 When Captain de Nan9ay arrived so opportunely, he was 
 leaving 'the king's chamber, whither he had conducted Henry 
 of Navarre and the Prince of Conde. The tumult and excite- 
 ment had worked Charles up to such a pitch of fury, that the 
 lives of the princes were hardly safe. But they were gentle- 
 men, and their first words were to reproach the king for his 
 breach of faith. Charles bade them be silent : " Messe ou 
 mort" Apostatize or die. Henry demanded time to consider ;
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 417 
 
 while the prince boldly declared that he would not change his 
 religion : " With God's help it is my intention to remain firm 
 in my profession." Charles, exasperated still more by this 
 opposition to his will, angrily walked up and down the room, 
 and swore that if they did not change in three days he would 
 have their heads. They were then dismissed, but kept close 
 prisoners within the palace.* 
 
 The houses in which the Huguenots lodged having been 
 registered, were easily known. The soldiers burst into them, 
 killing all they found, without regard to age or sex, and if any 
 escaped to the roof they were shot down like pigeons. Day- 
 light served to facilitate a work that was too foul even for the 
 blackest midnight. Restraint of every kind was thrown aside, 
 and while the men were the victims of bigoted fury, the wom- 
 en were exposed to violence unutterable. As if the popular 
 frenzy needed excitement, Marshal Tavannes, the military di- 
 rector of this deed of treachery, rode through the streets with 
 dripping sword, shouting : " Kill ! kill ! blood-letting is as 
 good in August as in May."f One would charitably hope 
 that this was the language of excitement, and that in his 
 calmer moods he would have repented of his share in the 
 massacre. But he was consistent to the last. On his death- 
 bed, he made a general confession of his sins, in which he did 
 not mention the day of St. Bartholomew ; and when his son 
 expressed surprise at the omission, he observed : " I look upon 
 that as a meritorious action, which ought to atone for all the 
 sins of my life." 
 
 The massacre soon exceeded the bounds upon which Charles 
 and his mother had calculated. They were willing enough 
 that the Huguenots should be murdered, but the murderers 
 
 * Some accounts place tins scene on tlic 26th, after Charles returned 
 from the lit de justice. Did he threaten them twice? A similar threat is 
 recorded on September 9, when Elizabeth his queen intervened with tears. 
 
 t The same figure is used by the author of the Jllustre Orbandole, ou 
 Hist, de C/tdlons-sur-Saone. Lyon, 1672, b. 1, pt. 2, p. 10. "Une saignee 
 fut si sagement ordonnee pour eteindre la chaleur d'unc fievro quo des 
 remedcs plus doux n'avait (sic) fait qu'irritcr."
 
 118 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 might not always be able to draw the line between orthodoxy 
 and heresy. Things were fast getting beyond all control ; 
 the thirst for plunder was even keener than the thirst for 
 blood. And it is certain that among the many ignoble mo- 
 tives by which Charles was induced to permit the massacre, 
 was the hope of enriching himself and paying his debts out of 
 the property of the murdered Huguenots. Nor were Anjou 
 and others insensible to the charms of heretical property. Hence 
 we find the Provost of Paris remonstrating with the king about 
 " the pillaging of houses and the murders in the streets by the 
 guards and others in the service of his majesty and the 
 princes." Charles, in reply, bade the magistrates "mount 
 their horses, and with all the force of the city put an end to 
 such irregularities, and remain on watch day and night." An- 
 other proclamation, countersigned by Nevers, was issued about 
 five in the afternoon, commanding the people to lay down the 
 arms which they had taken up " that day by the king's orders," 
 and to leave the streets to the soldiers only as if implying 
 that they alone were to kill and plunder.* 
 
 The massacre, commenced on Sunday, was continued through 
 that and the two folloAving days. Capilupi tells us, with won- 
 derful simplicity, " that it was a holiday, and therefore the 
 people could more conveniently find leisure to kill and plun- 
 der." It is impossible to assign to each day its task of blood : 
 in all but a few exceptional cases, we know merely that the 
 victims perished in the general slaughter. Writing in the 
 midst of the carnage, probably not later than noon of the 24th, 
 ihe nuncio Salviati says : " The whole city is in arms ; the 
 houses of the Huguenots have been forced with great loss of 
 lives, and sacked by the populace with incredible avidity. 
 Many a man to-night will have his horses and his carriage, and 
 will eat and drink off plate, who had never dreamt of it in his 
 life before. In order that matters may not go too far, and to 
 prevent the revolting disorders occasioned by the insolence of 
 
 * Cimber, Arch. Cur. vii. 217, Rcgistrcs. Reveille-Matin, G4. Mczernv, 
 iii. p. 258. Mem. Etnt de France, i. 2IG.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BAKTHOLOMEW. 419 
 
 the mob, a proclamation has just been issued, declaring that 
 there shall be three hours in the day during which it shall be un- 
 lawful to rob and kill ; and the order is observed, though not 
 universally. You can see nothing in the streets but white crosses 
 in the hats and caps of every one you meet, which has a fine ef- 
 fect !" The nuncio says nothing of the streets encumbered 
 with heaps of naked bleeding corpses, nothing of the cart-loads 
 of bodies conveyed to the Seme, and then flung into the river, 
 " so that not only were all the waters in it turned to blood," 
 but so many corpses grounded on the bank of the little island 
 of the Louvre, that the air became infected with the smell of 
 corruption.* The living, tied hand and foot, were thrown off 
 the bridges. One man probably a rag-gatherer brought two 
 little children in his creel, and tossed them into the water as 
 carelessly as if they had been blind kittens. An infant, as yet 
 unable to walk, had a cord tied round its neck, and was drag- 
 ged through the streets by a troop of children nine or ten 
 years old. Another played with the beard and smiled in the 
 face of the man who carried him ; but the innocent caress exas- 
 perated instead of softening the ruffian, who stabbed the 
 child, and with an oath threw it into the Seine. Among the 
 earliest victims was the wife of the king's plumassier. The 
 murderers broke into her house on the Notre Dame bridge, 
 about four in the morning, stabbed her, and flung her still 
 breathing into the river. She clung for some time to the 
 wooden piles of the bridge, and was killed at last with stones, 
 her body remaining for four days entangled by her long hair 
 among the wood-w r ork. The story goes that her husband's 
 corpse being thrown over fell against hers and set it free, 
 both floating away together down the stream. Madeleine Bri- 
 onnet, widow of Theobald of Yverni, disguised herself as a 
 woman of the people, so that she might save her life, but was 
 betrayed by the fine petticoat which hung below her coarse 
 gown. As she would not recant, she was allowed a few 
 
 * Comptes de I' Hotel-tie -Ville, Fe'libien, ii. 1121.
 
 420 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 moments' prayer, and then tossed into the water. Her son-in- 
 law, the Marquis of Renel, escaping in his shirt, was chased by 
 the murderers to the bank of the river, where he succeeded in 
 unfastening a boat. He would have got away altogether but 
 for his cousin Bussy d'Amboise, who shot him down with a 
 pistol.* One Keny, who had been stabbed and flung into the 
 Seine, was revived by the reaction of the cold water. Feeble 
 as he was he swam to a boat and clung to it, but was quickly 
 pursued. One hand was soon cut off with a hatchet, and as 
 he still continued to steer the boat down stream, he was 
 " quieted " by a musket-shot. One Puviaut or Pluviaut, who 
 met with a similar fate, became the subject of a ballad. f 
 
 Captain Moneins had been put' into a safe hiding-place by 
 his friend Fervacques, who went and begged the king to 
 spare the life of the fugitive. Charles not only refused, but 
 ordered him to kill Moneins if he desired to save his own life. 
 Fervacques would not stain his own hands, but made his 
 friend's hiding-place known. 
 
 Brion, governor of the Marquis of Conti, the Prince of 
 Conde's brother, snatched the child from his bed, and without 
 stopping to dress him, was hurrying away to a place of safety, 
 when the boy was torn from his arms, and he himself mur- 
 dered before the eyes of his pupil. We are told that the child 
 " cried and begged they would save his tutor's life." 
 
 The houses on the bridge of Notre Dame, inhabited prin- 
 cipally by Protestants, were witnesses to many a scene of cruel- 
 ty. All the inmates of one house were massacred, except a 
 little girl, who was dipped, stark naked, in the blood of her 
 father and mother, and threatened to be served like them if 
 she turned Huguenot. The Protestant book -sellers and 
 printers were particiilarly sought after. Spire Niquet was 
 burned over a slow fire made out of his own books, and 
 
 * Bussy thus effectually gained his suit about the earldom of Rcnel. 
 "Herite-t-on, Seigneur, de ceux qu'on assassine ?" 
 Comme Ics autres Pluviaut 
 A, faute de vin, bu dc 1'enn.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 421 
 
 thrown lifeless, but not dead, into the river. Oudin Petit * 
 fell a victim to the covetousness of his son-in-law, who was a 
 Catholic book-seller. Rene Bianchi, the queen's perfumer, is 
 reported to have killed with his own hands a young man, a 
 cripple, who had already displayed much skill in goldsmith's 
 work. This is the only man whose death the king lamented, 
 " because of his excellent workmanship, for his shop was en- 
 tirely stripped." One woman was betrayed by her own daugh- 
 ter. Another, whose twenty-first pregnancy was approaching 
 its term, was exposed to tortures unutterable. Another preg- 
 nant woman was drowned, after she had been compelled to 
 walk over the face of her husband. Another woman, in a 
 similar state, was shot as she tried to escape by the roof of 
 her house, and the immature fruit of her womb was dashed 
 against the wall. Frances Baillet, wife of the queen's gold- 
 smith, after seeing her husband and her son murdered, leaped 
 out of the windoAV, and broke both her legs by falling into 
 the court beneath. A neighbor had compassion on her, and 
 hid her in his cellar ; but being " less brave than tender-heart- 
 ed," he was frightened by the threats of the assassins, and 
 gave up the poor woman to them. The brutes dragged her 
 through the streets by the hair, and in order to get easily at 
 her gold bracelets, they chopped off both her hands, and left 
 her all bleeding at the door of a cook-shop. The cook, annoy- 
 ed by her groans, ran a spit into her body and left it there. 
 Some hours later, her mutilated remains were thrown into 
 the river, and dogs gnawed her hands which 'had been left in 
 the street. In the list of victims we find the name of Gas- 
 tine a widow, and mother of two young children. Hers 
 had been a life of suffering : her husband, father-in-law, and 
 xmcle had been hanged ; one relative banished, another sent, 
 to the galleys, their goods confiscated, and their house level- 
 ed to the ground.f 
 Few of the Huguenots attempted any resistance, though 
 
 * It is written Odct Petit in Duplcssis-Morn.iy's Memoirs, f Supra, p. 343.
 
 422 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 many of them were veteran soldiers. Had they done so, the 
 whole body might have found time to rally. As it was, they 
 were equally unable to defend themselves or to fly : their 
 faculties seemed benumbed. Agrippa d'Aubigne gives a 
 curious instance of the panic felt by the Huguenots. He 
 was riding along the high-road several days after the massa- 
 cre, accompanied by fourscore soldiers, among whom were 
 some of the most daring in France, when a man shouted out : 
 " There they are," and immediately they galloped off, as fast 
 as their horses could carry them. The next day half of the 
 same panic-stricken men routed 600 Catholics. In the me- 
 moirs of Gamon we read that the Huguenots of Annonay 
 (Ardeche) were so terrified by the massacre, that at the least 
 noise or movement among the Catholics they would run away, 
 though no one pursued them. 
 
 Three men only in Paris are recorded as having fought for 
 their lives. Taverny, a lieutenant of Marechaussee, stood a 
 regular siege in his House. For eight or nine hours he and 
 one servant kept the mob at bay, and when his leaden bullets 
 were exhausted, he used pellets of pitch.* As soon as these 
 were spent, he rushed out, and was overwhelmed by numbers. 
 His wife was taken to prison; but his invalid sister was 
 dragged naked through the streets, until death ended her suffer- 
 ing and her ignominy. Guerchy also struggled unsuccessful- 
 ly for his life, his only weapon being a dagger against men pro- 
 tected with cuirasses. Soubise also fought like a hero one 
 against a host and died beneath' the windows of the queen's 
 apartments, among the earliest of the victims. 
 
 Jean Goujon, the sculptor, was killed while at work. 
 Another victim, less widely known except among scholars, 
 was Peter Ramus. He was a man of poor parentage : his 
 grandfather had been a charcoal-burner, and his father a 
 ploughman. By day he worked with his hands, and studied 
 by night, rising by degrees to be professor of philosophy and 
 
 * Pasquier, Lettres, p. 363. Some Englishmen are reported to have de- 
 fended themselves successful! v.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 423 
 
 eloquence at the College of Presle.* He made many enemies 
 by attacking the authority of Aristotle, and more than once 
 had to fly for his life. During the horrors of the massacre 
 he had hidden himself in a cellar, where he was discovered 
 by the assassins whom his rival Charpentier had sent to mur- 
 der him. He was robbed of his little wealth, and then thrown 
 from a window. Some of the youths of the university, 
 urged by other tutors, dragged his body through the streets, 
 inflicting on it various indignities.f A surgeon passing by 
 cut off the head and carried it away, while the trunk was 
 tossed into the river. Gilbert Genebrad, Archbishop of Aix, 
 speaking of the " guilty victims " of the St. Bartholomew, de- 
 clares Ramus to have been " justly punished for his turbu- 
 lence and folly, which dared attack languages, arts, science, 
 and even theology." J Charpentier exults over his death as 
 " making ample atonement to us or rather to the republic." 
 Lambin, a rigid Catholic and " royal reader," was so horror- 
 stricken on being told of the murder, that he could not sur- 
 vive it. 
 
 Another distinguished victim was Pierre de la Place, presi- 
 dent of the Court of Aids. He lived in an isolated house 
 at the extreme border of the Marais, and the first news he 
 had of the massacre was from one Captain Michel, who with 
 arquebuse on his shoulder, white ribbon on his left arm, and 
 pistol at his belt, entered the library at six in the morning 
 and said : " M. de Guise has just killed the admiral by the 
 king's order. All the Huguenots, of whatever rank or station, 
 
 * In a receipt for his stipend (penes auct.^) dated 1563, he is called " Seign- 
 eur de la Ramce," and a " noble et scicntifique personne." 
 
 f There is a picture by Robert Floury, exhibited about 1840, in which 
 Ramus is represented sitting up in a bed on the floor, while his servant 
 listens anxiously at the door. 
 
 J Cfironoyraphia, p. 776, fol. Paris, 1600. 
 
 "Nobis vel potius rcip. satis poenarum dedit." In the dedication of his 
 "Comparison between Plato and Aristotle," published in January, 1573, 
 Charpentier compliments the Cardinal of Lorraine on the "brilliant and 
 sweet day that shone over France in the month of August last." Dorat 
 says of Ramus punningly : " Maximum ramum maxima furca decct."
 
 424 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 are destined to die. I have come hither expressly to save 
 you from this calamity ; but you must show me what gold 
 and silver you have in the house." " Where do you think 
 you are ?" returned La Place. " Have we no longer a king ?" 
 Michel answered with an oath: "Come with me and speak 
 to the king, that you may know his pleasure." La Place did 
 not follow his advice, but made his escape by the back door ; 
 while Michel, for a consideration of 1000 crowns, put the 
 president's wife and children in safety with a Catholic family. 
 La Place had not benefited by his escape ; he had wandered 
 up and down, but could find no asylum ; all doors were closed 
 against him, and he was glad at last to return home. His 
 wife, a lady adorned with every grace of mind and person, 
 had returned before him, hoping to find him, and resolved 
 (now that her children were in safety) to stay at the head of 
 her little household. In the evening for it was Sunday 
 the servants and relations assembled for divine worship. 
 After reading and commenting on a chapter of Job, La Place 
 prayed and prepared his little congregation for the worst. 
 " Let us learn (he said) how to conduct ourselves firmly and 
 temperately in this condition of trial. Let us show that God's 
 word has been copiously poured into our souls." He had not 
 ended his exhortation when he was told that Provost Senes- 
 cay was at the door with archers sent to protect him and es- 
 cort him to the Louvre. He feared to go, the danger was too 
 great, but eight men were left with him to garrison the house. 
 On Monday Senescay returned with express orders to take 
 him to the king. His wife, suspecting treachery, fell at his 
 knees and prayed to accompany her husband. Raising her 
 up, he said cheerfully : " My dear, we must not have recourse 
 to the arm of man, but to God alone." Seeing his son with 
 a paper cross in his hat, which had been put there as a pre- 
 caution, he added : " Take it out, my child, take out that 
 mark of sedition ; the true cross which you must now wear 
 is the affliction which God sends as a sure earnest of life eter- 
 nal." The president then took up his cloak, embraced his
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 425 
 
 wife, and bidding her have the honor and fear of God before 
 her eyes, departed in a cheerful humor. He was escorted by 
 twelve armed archers, but at the comer of the street w T as 
 stopped by four men with daggers. The escort made no re- 
 sistance, and La Place fell to the ground, stabbed through 
 the heart.* His body was taken to a stable at the Hotel-de- 
 Ville, whence it was afterward thrown into the Seine, and his 
 house was pillaged. He was probably a victim of private 
 vengeance, murdered by the hirelings of Stephen de Neuilly, 
 who succeeded to his various charges. 
 
 Mezeray writes that 700 or 800 people had taken refuge in 
 the prisons, hoping they would be safe " under the wings of 
 justice ;" but the officers selected for this work had them 
 brought out into the fitly-named " Valley of Misery ,"f and 
 there beat them to death with clubs and threw their bodies 
 into the river. J The Venetian embassador corroborates this 
 story, adding that they were murdered in batches of ten. 
 Where all were cruel, some few persons distinguished them- 
 selves by especial ferocity. A gold-beater, named Crozier, one 
 of those prison-murderers, bared his sinewy arm and boasted 
 of having killed 4000 persons with his own hands. Another 
 
 * Claude Haton says he was killed " more than a week after the declara- 
 tion, "as he was riding to his court. 
 
 t Now the Quai de la Me'gisserie, between the Pont Neuf* and the Pont 
 nu Change. 
 
 J Jacques Coppicr jests on the bodies "envoyes k Rouen sans bateau.'' 
 Another writer thus plays on the memorable mot of Charles IX. : 
 Cumque tuse passim aubmersa oadavera plebia 
 
 Volvat in eequoreas Sequana tristis aquas, 
 Tu pisces illis vesci, qui niandcre pisces 
 Nolnerint, Roma prcipiente, refers. 
 
 Illiistr. aliquot Germ. Carm. lib. de immani laniena. Vilnse, 1573, p. 8. 
 A pamphleteer declares : 
 
 Ma ! vous serez inprats, poissons, vous auriez tort, 
 Si IIP le rocevez, du moin?, aprea la inort, 
 Pui.-que tant ils vous ont donnc de courtoisie, 
 De no vouloir jamais vous manger en leur vie. 
 
 Discours ur les Guerres intestines; par I. T., Paris, 1572. 
 
 Agrippa d'Anbigne gives us the sequel of this man's history. He as- 
 sumed a hermit's frock, and murdered the passengers he lured to his her- 
 mitage, "so unquenchable was his thirst for blood." He met his tardy reward 
 on the gibbet.
 
 426 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 man for the sake of human nature we would fain hope him 
 to be the same affirmed that unaided he had "dispatched" 
 80 Huguenots in one day. He would eat his food with 
 hands dripping with gore, declaring " that it was an honor to 
 him, because it was the blood of heretics." On Tuesday a 
 butcher, Crozier's comrade, boasted td the king that he had 
 killed 150 the night before. Coconnas, one of the mignons 
 of Anjou, prided himself on having ransomed from the popu- 
 lace as many as thirty Huguenots, for the pleasure of making 
 them abjure and then killing them with his own hand, after he 
 had " secured them for hell." * 
 
 About seven o'clock the king was at one of the windows of 
 his palace, enjoying the air of that beautiful August morning, 
 when he was startled by shouts of " Kill ! kill." They were 
 raised by a body of 200 Guards, who were firing with much 
 more noise than execution at a number of Huguenots who 
 had crossed the river : " to seek the king's protection," says 
 one account: "to help the king against the Guises," says 
 another. Charles, who had just been telling his mother that 
 " the weather seemed to rejoice at the slaughter of the Hu- 
 guenots,"f felt all his savage instincts kindle at the sight. He 
 had. hunted wild beasts, now he would hunt men : and calling 
 for an arquebuse, he fired at the fugitives, who were fortunate- 
 ly out of range. Some modern writers deny this fact, on the 
 ground that the balcony from which Charles is said to have 
 fired was not built until after 1572. "Were this true, it would 
 only show that tradition had misplaced the locality. Bran- 
 tomej expressly says the king fired on the Huguenots not 
 
 *.7bwrn. de Henri ITT., i. p. 32 (.anno 1574). 
 
 t Le Tocsain, p. 145 (Ilheims, 1579). 
 
 J Froude says hastily, that the story rests only on the "worthless au- 
 thority of Brantome." Hist. Enrjl. x. 40G. Now Brantome was a terrible 
 gossip, but what could induce him to coin such a detestable story ? Smed- 
 ley (I'rot. Ref. France, ii. 367) also says, " the f"Ct is not mentioned by 
 D'Aubigne," which a subsequent note will show to be a mistake. Mezeray 
 (Abreye, 1CG5) says: "Le roy .... tachnit de les canarder;" Bossuet: 
 "Le roi qui les tirait paries fenetres." The Reveille-Matin, published in 1574, 
 mentions it : so that the story was at least contemporaneous.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 427 
 
 from a balcony, but " from his bedroom window." Marshal 
 Tesse heard the story (according to Voltaire) from the man 
 who loaded the arquebuse. Henault, in his " Abrege Chro- 
 nologique," mentions it with a " dit-on," and it is significant 
 that the passage is suppressed in the Latin editions. Simon 
 Goulart, in his contemporary narrative,* uses the same words 
 of caution. In Barbier's " Journal" we read of the destruc- 
 tion of the former Garde Meuble in the Rue des Poulies on 
 the quay, in which there was a balcony whence the king fired. 
 Agrippa d'Aubigne speaks in his " Universal History " of let- 
 ters written by the same hand " with which he brought down 
 the fugitives."! As for the date of the building, the king's 
 bed-chamber in the south-west pavilion of the Louvre (not the 
 balcony) was completed in 1556, and so far as regards the pa- 
 vilion itself, it is represented in the " Bastiments de France " 
 of Androuet de Cerceau, published in 1576. Now if any one 
 will consider the time it must necessarily have taken to get 
 up such a work as the "Bastiments" a conscientious under- 
 taking of great labor he can not but come to the conclusion 
 that the pavilion was in existence four years earlier.J There 
 is no good reason, therefore, to regard this story of the king's 
 ferocity as imhistoric. 
 
 Xot many of the Huguenot gentlemen escaped from the 
 toils so skillfully drawn around them on that fatal Saturday 
 
 * M>'m. Etat de. France, i. 1579 (2d e d.), 212 b. 
 
 t " De laquclle ce prince giltoyait de la fenetre," ed. 1626, p. 548. In liis 
 poem of Les Tratjiiues he refers to the same report, using the same charac- 
 teristic expression : 
 
 Ce roy, non jn.te roy, mais juste Iiarquebusier, 
 
 Oiboyait aux paasans trop tardif a noyer, 
 
 Vantant sfes coups heureux. Lea Fers, p. 241. 
 
 This paints the king firing on the yet living bodies as they floated down the 
 river. Agrippa is not an authority for the fact; but it is something to show 
 that the report existed so early. I am told that a plate of the time repre- 
 sents this window as walled up. If this be true, why was it closed ? 
 
 JDu Cerceau farther tells us that, at the time when the first part of his 
 work appeared, the great gallery intended to unite the Louvre with the 
 Tuileries had been begun.
 
 428 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 night : yet there were a few. The Count of Montgomery 
 the same who was the innocent cause of the death of Henry 
 II. got safe away, having been forewarned by a friend who 
 swam across the river to him,* Guise set off in hot pursuit, 
 and would probably have caught him up, had he not been kept 
 waiting for the keys of the city gate. Some sixty gentlemen 
 also, lodging near him in the Faubourg St. Germain, were the 
 companions of his flight. 
 
 Sully, afterward the famous minister of Henry IV., had a 
 narrow escape. He was in his twelfth year, and had gone to 
 Paris in the train of Joan of Navarre for the purpose of con- 
 tinuing his studies. " About three hours after midnight," he 
 says, " I was awoke by the ringing of bells, and the confused 
 cries of the populace. My governor, St. Julian, with my val- 
 et-de-chambre, went out to know the cause ; and I never 
 heard of them afterward. They no doubt were among the 
 first sacrificed to the public fury. I continued alone in my 
 chamber dressing myself, when in a few moments my land- 
 lord entered, pale and in the utmost consternation. He was 
 of , the Reformed religion, and having learned what was the 
 matter, had consented to go to mass to save his life, and 
 preserve his house from being pillaged. He came to persuade 
 me to do the same, and to take me with him. I did not think 
 proper to follow him, but resolved to try if I could gain the 
 College of Burgundy, where I had studied ; though the great 
 distance between the house in which I then was and the col- 
 lege made the attempt very dangerous. Having disguised 
 myself in a scholar's gown, I put a large prayer-book under 
 my arm, and went into the street. I was siezed with horror 
 inexpressible at the sight of the furious murderers, running 
 from all parts, forcing open the houses, and shouting out : 
 Kill, kill! Massacre the Huguenots! The blood which I 
 saw shed before my eyes redoubled my terror. I fell into the 
 midst of a body of Guards, who stopped and questioned me, 
 and were beginning to use me ill, when, happily for me, the 
 
 * The time was about five, which gave him two hours' start of Guise.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 429 
 
 book that I carried was perceived and served me for a pass- 
 port. Twice after this I fell into the same danger, from which 
 I extricated myself with the same good fortune. At last I 
 arrived at the College of Burgundy, where a danger still 
 greater than any I had yet met with awaited me. The porter 
 having twice refused me entrance, I continued standing in the 
 midst of the street, at the mercy of the savage murderers, 
 whose numbers increased every moment, and who were evi- 
 dently seeking for their prey, when it came into my head to 
 ask for La Faye, the principal of the college, a good man by 
 whom I was tenderly beloved. The porter, prevailed upon by 
 some small pieces of money which I put into his hand, admit- 
 ted me ; and my friend carried me to his apartment, where 
 two inhuman priests, whom I heard mention Sicilian Vespers, 
 wanted to force me from him, that they might cut me in 
 pieces, saying the order was not to spare even infants at the 
 breast. All the good man could do was to conduct me pri- 
 vately to a distant chamber, where he locked me up. Here I 
 was confined three days, uncertain of my destiny, and saw no 
 one but a servant of my friend's, who came from time to time 
 to bring me provisions." * 
 
 Philip de Mornay, or, as he was usually designated, Duples- 
 sis-Mornay, was among those who suspected treachery, and 
 refused to take part in the rejoicings on the marriage of Hen- 
 ry with Margaret. He got his mother out of Paris, but not 
 seeing how he could honorably leave the city himself, while 
 the chiefs of the Huguenot cause remained, he resolved to 
 share the perils of his leaders. His resolution well-nigh proved 
 fatal to him. He had scarcely time to burn his papers and 
 hide between the two roofs of the house in which he lived. 
 On Monday, as the mob became more furious, his host, a 
 conscientious Catholic, begged him flee, as his continuance 
 there might prove the ruin of both, adding that " he should 
 have disregarded his own danger, if it could have secured the 
 safety of the other." Duplessis, therefore, assumed a plain 
 * Memoirs of SMj (transl.), 4to. London, 1761, p. 27.
 
 430 . MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 black dress, girded on his sword and departed, while the mob 
 were plundering the next house, whose owner they murdered 
 and threw out of the window. He got safely to his law-agent, 
 by name Girard, who received him favorably and set him to 
 work in the office. This place of refuge being discovered, 
 early next day he had to leave the house conducted by one of 
 the clerks. They were stopped and questioned at the St. Denis 
 gate, when Duplessis represented himself to be a lawyer's clerk 
 going to spend the holidays with his family at Rouen. They 
 were allowed to pass, but had scarcely reached Villette, be- 
 tween Paris and St. Denis, when farther progress was checked 
 by the " carters, quarrymen, and plasterers of the faubourg." 
 They dragged Duplessis toward the river, and he was saved 
 only by the cool assurance of his companion, who asserted that 
 the men were mistaken, that the other really was a lawyer's 
 clerk going to Rouen, and that he was well known in the en- 
 virons of Paris. " Surely," interposed young Mornay, " you 
 do not want to kill one man for another." He referred them 
 to several individuals, among others to Girard, and then they 
 all went off to breakfast. Just at this moment the Rouen 
 coach passed along ; the mob stopped it to ascertain if the 
 fugitive was known to any of the passengers, and being recog- 
 nized by no one, they called him a liar and again threatened 
 to drown him. After being kept some time in suspense he 
 was released, the messengers who had been dispatched to Mr. 
 Girard having returned with a certificate that " Philip Mornay 
 his clerk was neither rebellious nor disaffected." But all was 
 not over yet. At Ivry-le-Temple, w^here he passed the night 
 of Thursday, some persons, who probably suspected him, en- 
 tered the room in which he was sitting, observing to each 
 other that they smelled a Huguenot. On his way to Buhy, his 
 birthplace, he narrowly escaped falling into the hands of a 
 one-eyed monster named Montafie, who at the head of a band 
 of ruffians was scouring the French Vexin. His house he 
 found desolate, his family dispersed no one could tell where. 
 At length, after undergoing many privations and more perils,
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 431 
 
 he escaped from Dieppe to England. It was nine days after 
 the massacre.* 
 
 Madame de Mornay herself had to undergo many dangers. 
 Her cook, a Huguenot, awoke her in the morning with cries 
 that " they were murdering every body." From her window, 
 which looked into the Rue St. Antoine, she saw an excited 
 restless crowd and several soldiers with white crosses in their 
 hats. Hastily secreting some of her valuables, she sent the 
 maid away with her little girl, and at eight in the morning 
 took shelter with one of the king's household. More than 
 forty persons found refuge in the same charitable asylum ; the 
 owner, M. de Perreuze, or his wife, standing occasionally at 
 the door to exchange a word with Guise, Nevers, and other 
 lords, as they passed to and fro ; and also with the " captains 
 of Paris," who were sacking the adjoining houses belonging 
 to Huguenots. On Tuesday the house was searched, and 
 Madame Duplessis (or to speak more correctly, the young 
 widow of M. de Feuqueres) had to conceal herself. From her 
 hiding-places he could hear " the strange cries of the men, wom- 
 en, and children they were murdering in the streets." Her next 
 refuge was in the house of a blacksmith, a seditious fellow 
 and the captain of his ward, who had married her waiting-maid. 
 " He passed the night," says the lady, " in cursing the Hu- 
 guenots and seeing to the booty that was brought in from the 
 plundered houses." After various changes of refuge, eleven 
 days after the massacre she went on board the passage-boat 
 for Sens, where she was accused of being a Huguenot and told 
 that she ought to be drowned. A woman came up and asked 
 Avhat they were going to do with her. " Why, this is a Hu- 
 guenot, and we intend to throw her into the river." The 
 
 * Mem. el Corresp. de Duplessis- Mornny (8vo. Paris, 1824-34), i. p. 45. lie 
 escaped to Rye, which, after suffering from a severe pestilence, had been 
 "replenished by the French, who sheltered themselves here from the great 
 massacre . . . ; so that, in 1582, were found inhabiting here 1534 persons 
 of that nation." Jcakc (Sam.): Charters of the Cinque Purts (Lond. 1728), 
 p. 108.
 
 432 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 woman replied : " You know me well ; I am no Huguenot ; I 
 go every day to mass ; but I am so frightened, that I have had 
 a fever this week past." "And I too," rejoined one of the 
 soldiers : " j'en ai le bee tout galeux." This saved her life ; 
 but she had the horror of listening to the rejoicings of her 
 fellow-passengers (there were two monks and a priest among 
 them) over what they had seen in Paris. Twenty-seven days 
 after the massacre a body of soldiers, the Swiss guard of Queen 
 Elizabeth, searched the village where she lay hid, but did not 
 find any Huguenots. It was not until the 1st November 
 that she got beyond all danger by reaching the town of Sedan. 
 In her flight, she had gone near the country seat of the Chan- 
 cellor de 1'Hopital. This, by the king's express order, was 
 held by a strong garrison, possibly by way of protection ; but 
 the lawless soldiers compelled Madame de 1'Hopital, who had 
 been converted to the new religion, to go to mass ; and the 
 ex-chancellor assured the fugitive that if he received her be- 
 neath his roof, she would have to do the same.* 
 
 Young Caumont, a boy about twelve years old, and better 
 known in after life as the Duke of La Force, escaped in a sin- 
 gular manner. A number of dead bodies had been thrown 
 upon him, those of his father and brother being among them. 
 He lay for some hours beneath this horrible load, when the 
 marker from an adjoining tennis-court, attracted by one of 
 his stockings, tried to pull it off. While doing so, he uttered 
 an exclamation of pity, which the boy heard. " I am not 
 dead," he whispered ; " pray save me." He was saved, but, 
 as the murderous ruffians were still in sight, he had to remain 
 some time longer beneath the bloody heap. He was taken, 
 not without difficulties, to the arsenal, where Marshal de Biron, 
 as master of the ordnance, commanded. Here young Cau- 
 mont was kept several days disguised as a page. This was 
 told the king, with the addition that several other Huguenots had 
 
 * Granvellc, hearing that L'Hopital and his wife were murdered, writes 
 cxultingly, anu hopes that Catherine will soon be disposed of. See Michc- 
 let : La Liyue, p. 475.
 
 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 433 
 
 found refuge in the same place. Charles determined to have 
 it searched ; and when the marshal heard of it, he declared 
 angrily " he would take very good care to hinder any one 
 from entering who wanted to control his actions," and " there- 
 upon pointed three or four pieces of cannon toward the gate 
 of the arsenal." * 
 
 The Duchess Rene of Ferrara, daughter of Louis XII., shel- 
 tered many in her hotel, and among them were the wife and 
 child of Pastor Merlin. Even the Duke of Guise was not all 
 blood-thirsty, at least one Huguenot owing his life to him.f 
 Some were saved at the house of the English embassador, al- 
 though a guard had been set over it, as much to keep out 
 refugees as to protect the English who had been hastily col- 
 lected within its walls.| Two or three are reported to have 
 fallen in the massacre, from not receiving the warning early 
 enough. Kirkaldy, so famous in the history of Mary Stuart, 
 had a narrow escape for his life. Hubert Languet was saved 
 by Jean de Morvilliers, Bishop of Orleans, who sheltered him 
 in his own house. Anne d'Este, widow of the Duke of Guise, 
 saved the life of L'Hopital's daughter, for which the father 
 thanked her : 
 
 Vivit adhuc, vivitque tuo servata rccenti 
 Munere, dum tota cycles flagraret in urbe, 
 Praeterea nee spes occurreret ulla salutis. || 
 
 In the very height of the massacre, the rumor of a miracle 
 revived the flagging zeal of the Parisians. In the ancient 
 
 * Mem. autheutlques de Jacques Nompar de Caumont: ed. by Marquis de la 
 Grange, 8vo. Paris, 1843. Voltaire in his poetry adopts Mezeray's account, 
 that the father and his two sons lay in the same bed ; that two were killed, 
 and the third saved as by a miracle : but in his notes to the Henriade ac- 
 cepts the true version. De Thou and Sismondi also adopt the erroneous 
 story. 
 
 t Mezoray says that he saved "more than 100 Huguenots." Abrege, v. 
 157. 
 
 J Burghley to Walsingham in Dipges, September 9, 1572. 
 
 To them of the Castle of Edinburgh, August 25, at noon. AfSS. Mary 
 Q. of Scots, Record Office. 
 
 || Ad Annam ^Estensem. 
 
 E E
 
 434: MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 cemetery of the Innocents there stood a small chapel dedicated 
 to the Virgin Mary, and in front of it a white-thorn bush 
 which for four years had shown neither leaf nor flower. All 
 of a sudden, on the morning of the massacre, it became cov- 
 ered with beautiful white blossoms, filling the air with their 
 delicious perfume. It continued in bloom for a fortnight, 
 and every body went to see it. The king and his court pro- 
 ceeded thither in long procession. Sick persons were healed 
 by merely looking at it ; and the superstitious crowd, which 
 included nearly every one in Paris, believed that it was " a 
 sign from heaven of God's approval of the Catholic uprising 
 and the admiral's death." All the city guilds and companies, 
 all the ecclesiastical fraternities, marched out to the cemetery 
 with much pomp and loud music, killing the Huguenots they 
 found in their road. The nuncio Salviati, who had probably 
 formed one of the royal procession, writes very incredulously 
 to the Papal Secretary of State : " The people ran to see it 
 with such eagerness, that should any of the priests who live 
 in the convent dare say publicly that it had blossomed some 
 days before the event, he would be stoned and flung into the 
 river." * 
 
 Not until the second day does there appear to have been 
 any remorse or pity for the horrors inflicted upon the wretch- 
 ed Huguenots. Elizabeth of Austria, the young queen who 
 hoped shortly to become a mother, interceded for Conde, and 
 so great was her agitation and distress that her "features 
 were quite disfigured by the tears she had shed night and 
 day." And the Duke of Alen9on, a youth of by no means 
 lovable character, " wept much," we are told, " over the fate 
 of those brave captains and soldiers." For this tenderness he 
 
 * Mezeray, who half believes in the miracle, tries to account for it on 
 natural causes: "On pourrait dire qne la cause qui avail excite' dans les 
 esprits ce violent et extraordinaire acces de fureur, etait aussi cellc qui avait 
 e'chauffe cet arbre, soit qu'elle proced&t de la terre, soit qu'elle vint de quel- 
 que influence des nstres." Abrfye, iii. 1085. Favyn (Hist, Navarre), then 
 a boy six years old, was taken to see the thorn. His memory must have 
 been very strong to retain the circumstances he records.
 
 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 435 
 
 was so bitterly reproached by Charles and his mother, that he 
 was forced to keep out of their sight. Alengon was partial to 
 Coligny, arid when there was found among the admiral's pa- 
 pers a report in which he condemned the appanages, the grants 
 usually given by the crown to the younger members of the 
 royal family, Catherine exultingly showed it to him: "See 
 what a fine friend he was to you." "I know not how far he 
 may have been my friend," replied the duke, " but the advice 
 he gave was very good." * 
 
 If Mezeray is to be trusted, Charles broke down on the 
 second day of the massacre. Since Saturday he had been in 
 a state of extraordinary excitement, more like madness than 
 sanity, and at last his mind gave way under tho pressure. 
 To his surgeon Ambrose Pare, who kept at his side all through 
 these dreadful hours, he said : f " I do not know what ails me. 
 For these two or three days past, both mind and body have 
 been quite upset. I burn with fever : all around me grin pale 
 blood-stained faces. Ah ! Ambrose, if they had but spared 
 the weak and innocent !" A change indeed had come over 
 him ; he became more restless than ever, his looks savage, his 
 buffoonery coarser and more boisterous. "Ne mai poteva 
 pigliar requie," says Sigismond Cavalli. Like Macbeth, he 
 had murdered sleep. "I saw the king on my return from 
 Rochelle," says Brantome, " and found him entirely changed. 
 His features had lost all the gentleness (douceur) usually vis- 
 ible in them."J 
 
 " About a week after the massacre," says a contemporary, 
 " a number of crows flew croaking round, and settled on the 
 Louvre. The noise they made drew every body out to see 
 them, and the superstitious women infected the king with 
 their own timidity. That very night Charles had not been in 
 bed two hours, when he jumped up and called for the King 
 
 * Renault, Abrege, p. 443. t Sully, Mem. i. p. 30. 
 
 J Charles reminds us of Nero after his mother's murder : " modo per 
 silentium defixns, saepius pavore exsurgens, et mentis inops lucem opperiens 
 tanquam exitium allaturam." Tacitus, Annul, xiv. 10.
 
 436 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 of Navarre, to listen to a horrible tumult in the air: shrieks, 
 groans, yells, mingled with blasphemous oaths and threats, 
 just as they were heard on the night of the massacre. The 
 sound returned for seven successive nights, precisely at the 
 same hour." * Juvenal des Ursins tells the story rather differ-, 
 ently. "On the 31st August I supped at the Louvre with 
 Madame de Fiesque. As the day was very hot, we went 
 down into the garden and sat in an arbor by the river. Sud- 
 denly the air was filled with a horrible noise of tumultuous 
 voices and groans, mingled with cries of rage and madness. 
 We could not move for terror ; we turned pale and were un- 
 able to speak. The noise lasted for half an hour, and was 
 heard by the king, who was so terrified that he could not 
 sleep the rest of the night." As for Catherine, knowing that 
 strong emotions would spoil her digestion and impair her 
 good looks, she kept up her spirits : " For my part," she said, 
 " there are only six of them on my conscience ;"f which is a lie, 
 for when she ordered the tocsin to be rung, she must have 
 foreseen the horrors perhaps not all the horrors that would 
 ensue. 
 
 Before the bodies of their first victims were cold, Cather- 
 ine and her advisers became aware of the great political blun- 
 der they had committed. That it was a crime affected them 
 little, if at all ; but they had perpetrated an act of treachery 
 which they would have to justify in the eyes not only of 
 France, but of the civilized world. Thousands shrank with 
 horror from the deed and its perpetrators ; and many even of 
 those who applauded the end, could not vindicate the means.J 
 
 * Agr. d'Aubigne (Hist. Univ.} heard the story from Henry himself. 
 
 t De Statu Religionis, iv. 33. Guise also said " qu'on nvnit fait plus qu'il 
 ne voulait .... qu'il n'en voulait qu'a 1'amiral." Melanyes: Journ. de 
 Leipsic (June, 1693), p. 293. This is confirmed by a sort of newsletter from 
 Paris, preserved in the Record Office (MSS. France, September, 1572.) 
 "For the admiral's death he was glad ; but he thought for the rest that 
 the king had put such to death as, if it pleased him, might have done good 
 service." 
 
 t The Catholics condemned " non tanto il fatto quanto il modo o la ma- 
 nicra del fare .... chiamano questa via ili procedere con assoluta potesta,
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 437 
 
 Catherine and her Italians for Charles was now the merest 
 puppet in their hands hastily made up their minds to throw 
 upon the Duke of Guise the blame of the attempt upon the 
 admiral's life, and the massacre as the result of a riot between 
 the two parties, in which the Huguenots were the weakest. 
 They also represented that the king himself was hardly safe 
 in the Louvre. " I am here with my brother of Navarre and 
 my cousin of Conde, ready to share the same fortune with 
 them," wrote Charles.* On the evening of the massacre a cir- 
 cular note was issued, ascribing all the mischief to " the pri- 
 vate quarrel which had long existed between the houses of 
 Lorraine and Chatillon," and which the king had vainly tried 
 to arrange. It went on to say that the Edict of Pacification 
 must be observed as strictly as ever. On the next day, 
 Charles wrote to Schomberg, "bitterly deploring what had 
 happened ;" while to La Mothe-Fenelon he said that he was 
 exceedingly vexed (infiniment marry) at the assault upon the 
 admiral, and promised to investigate the case and punish the 
 offender. On the 24th he wrote that the Guises had begun 
 the massacre, " because they had heard that Coligny's friends 
 would retaliate ;" and that he had been compelled to employ 
 guards to keep the Louvre safe; and on the 27th he wrote 
 again to the same effect, but with a significant variation in 
 the phraseology.f 
 
 But by this time the massacre had assumed such enormous 
 proportions, that the Duke of Guise, who had returned from 
 the pursuit of Montgomery, refused to bear the odium of it 
 alone. Besides, the excuse was such an acknowledgment of 
 weakness, that in the eyes of the orthodox it elevated the 
 duke into the position of the true defender of the Church. 
 
 senza via di giudizio, via di tirannide, attribuendolo alia regina come Italiana." 
 Baschet : Relazioni, p. 295. 
 
 * Corresp. de Charles IX. et de Ufandelot, p. 39. Mem de VlZtat de France, 
 f. 215. Recueilde Lettres, etc., ed. by Merlet. 
 
 t " Lasche" la main a MM. dc Guise." Fenelon Corresp. See also Revue 
 Retrosp. v. 1834, p. 358, Charles to Matignon, August 26.
 
 438 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 The only way to remedy the blunder was for Charles boldly 
 to assume the responsibility. Catherine dreaded Henry of 
 Guise fully as much as she had hated the admiral. The new 
 policy would indeed compel them to tell another lie ; but ly- 
 ing carried no disgrace with it at the court of France. On 
 the 25th the king hinted something about a conspiracy to the 
 Spanish embassador;* on the 26th all timidity and hesitation 
 had disappeared. Charles, accompanied by his mother and 
 brothers, attended by a numerous crowd of ladies and gentle- 
 men, moved in stately procession through the streets of Paris. 
 The populace welcomed the king with shouts of joy, and some 
 of the more villainous of the ruffians pushed their way through 
 the Guards, and displaying their bloody weapons and ensan- 
 guined arms, boasted to him of the numbers they had killed. 
 One Protestant gentleman was hunted out and murdered be- 
 fore his very eyes : " Would to God he were the last !" exclaim- 
 ed Charles fiercely. He went to the cathedral Church of No- 
 tre Dame to return, thanks to God, as was his duty (says Cap- 
 ilupi) for such a happy issue, that without shedding the blood 
 of a single believer, the kingdom had been so graciously de- 
 livered from those pernicious and wicked people. From the 
 church he proceeded to the Palace of Justice, where, before 
 the foreign embassadors and parliament assembled in the Gild- 
 ed Chamber, he declared that the massacre had taken place 
 " by his express orders, not from any religious motive, or in con- 
 travention of his Edicts of Pacification, which he still intend- 
 ed to observe, but to prevent the carrying out of a detestable 
 conspiracy, got up by the admiral and his followers against 
 the person of the king, the queen-mother, her other sons, and 
 the King of Navarre." f The story deceived none but the 
 most ignorant and fanatical. Salviati declared at once that it 
 was " false in every respect," and that a man of the least 
 " experience in worldly matters would be ashamed to believe 
 
 * "Nous preservant de lours mains." Cath. to Philip, August 25. Si- 
 mancas Papers (Bibl. Nat.}, B, No. 144. 
 t See the " Official Declaration."
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 439 
 
 it." * This is the " third lie " they were obliged to invent, says 
 Tavannes. 
 
 The royal speech was afterward amplified, and published as 
 a manifesto.f It accused the Huguenots of infringing the 
 Edict in various ways, and murdering Catholics ; of threaten- 
 ing war, if their importunities were not attended to ; and of 
 plotting against the king and his mother, declaring all the 
 while that the king was plotting against them. " All these in- 
 ventions were forged in the admiral's shop." He was trying 
 to cause a rupture with Spain by giving succor to the rebels 
 in the Low Countries, when a man, whom he had threatened 
 to hang, shot him as he was leaving the palace. His majesty 
 was deliberating how he could execute prompt and exempla- 
 ry justice on the author of such a wicked deed, when the ad- 
 miral resolved to avenge himself at one blow upon the king 
 and the royal family, so that he might the easier make "him- 
 self sole master of the kingdom. " If my arm is wounded," 
 he said, " my head is not ; J if I must lose my arm, I shall have 
 the heads of those who caused the loss. They thought to kill 
 me, but I shall be beforehand with them." When he was told 
 that the king was sorry for his suffering : " It is all made up," 
 he replied ; " I understand their tricks. I know how to catch 
 them all." On Saturday, after dinner, the admiral held a se- 
 cret council of his friends, at which it was resolved to kill the 
 king and all who were opposed to their designs. His maj- 
 esty was informed of this in the evening by "some trust- 
 worthy persons," and even by some of the conspirators, who 
 would not join in "so barbarous and enormous a crime." 
 The king thought he must apply a " prompt, sovereign, and 
 vigorous remedy to so cruel a plot ;" for in matters where the 
 
 * "Ces grimaces n'imposerent & personne," says Bossuet. Montluc dis- 
 believed the story ; " Je sais bien ce quo j'en cms." 
 
 t Discours sur les Causes de I 'Execution, etc. Rouen, 1572. 
 
 J In a circular to the churches dispatched in his name on the 23d, Coligny 
 really used this phrase, but it was to quiet, not to excite them. 
 
 This was the meeting at which Bouchavannes played the spy.
 
 440 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 lives of princes are concerned, punishment and " execution 
 must precede inquiry :" in plain English, hang first and try 
 afterward. He therefore resolved, in council with his mother 
 and others, " to anticipate the conspiracy by a prompt and 
 sovereign execution," and accordingly gave orders that on 
 Sunday morning at day-break they should commence the pun- 
 ishment by killing the admiral and all his faction, which was 
 done with such "felicity, 'diligence, and celerity," that by sev- 
 en o'clock the admiral, his chief officers, and others were put 
 to death, very few escaping with their lives. Hence the king 
 argued the goodness of God, who kept the Huguenots in ig- 
 norance of the design against them. The people of Paris, 
 who are stanch Catholics, and very fond of their prince, re- 
 membering their past sufferings, and exasperated by the sto- 
 ry of the plot, " fell upon the Huguenots, killed many, and 
 sacked their houses," in their praiseworthy desire to support 
 and defend their prince. If a few robberies were committed, 
 " we must excuse the fury of a people impelled by honest zeal 
 a fury hard to restrain when once aroused." Such was the 
 defense of the massacre put forward at the time.* To us, who 
 know its weakness and the falsehood of its chief point, it 
 seems contemptible enough ; but to the fanatics of those days, 
 it must have been an appeal thrilling every nerve in their bodies. 
 The obsequious parliament, by the mouth of their president 
 De Thou, thanked the king for his gracious communication, 
 and for the vigor he had shown in crushing the conspiracy 
 not only against the throne but against the Church. He 
 quoted with approbation the villainous maxim of Louis XI., 
 " Qui nescit dissimulare nescit regnare " (He who knows not 
 how to dissemble knows not how to reign) : his whole speech 
 being a cowardly defense and eulogy of the massacre.f That 
 
 * Eytzingcr got his information from a pamphlet, probably the royal jus- 
 tification, published at Paris, "cui lector tantum fidei tribuat quantum vo- 
 let," which is pretty plain, considering he was a Catholic. Leo Bcly. p. 127. 
 
 t Felibien, a Benedictine monk, evidently disapproves of the "discotirs 
 sur Icquel il nc nous appartient pas de porter notre jugcment " (ii. 1 122).
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 441 
 
 the chief magistrate of France should stoop so low, is one of 
 the saddest incidents of the time ; but the French have always 
 been too prone to worship the fait accompli, to become the 
 servile flatterers of success. There can be no hope for the 
 political life of a nation, until it learns to apply the same rules 
 of morality to public as to private affairs. At that moment 
 Charles was nobler than De Thou.* There is something in 
 great crimes which fascinates and attracts. The king had 
 struck a desperate blow, which, had it failed, might have cost 
 him his throne and perhaps his life. The first president 
 of the Parliament of Paris ostentatiously defended and ex- 
 tolled in public a deed which he condemned in private. His 
 son tells us that in his copy of Statius he marked the follow- 
 ing lines, giving them a significance of which the poet never 
 dreamed : 
 
 Excidat ilia dies aevo, ncc postera credant 
 Siecula ! nos certe taceamus ; ct obruta multa 
 Noctc tegi propriffi patiamur crimina gentis.f 
 
 At the suggestion of Pibrac the king's words were entered 
 in the register of minutes ; and then the same man, braver 
 and more humane than his fellows, prayed that Charles would 
 order the massacre to cease. The king seems immediately to 
 have issued the necessary dir/ections, that no one should from 
 that hour presume to kill or plunder a fellow-citizen under 
 pain of death. But another advocate of the same court, by 
 name Morvilliers,J had the baseness to propose that Coligny 
 should be tried and attainted for the plot he had contrived 
 against the king. At the same time the castle of Chatillon 
 was ordered to be razed to the ground, one tower alone re- 
 maining of that princely mansion. 
 
 Although nothing had been found in the admiral's papers 
 
 * It is said in the Mem. de tEtat de France, that one Ronillard was killed 
 " at the instigation of the first president," a statement we gladly believe 
 unfounded. 
 
 t Statius : Silv. v. 2, 1. 88. 
 
 J Others call him Bishop of Orleans.
 
 442 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 to justify the charge of conspiring against the throne, there 
 were two prisoners in custody who, it was hoped, might be 
 induced to save their lives by confessing the existence of a 
 plot. They were Briquemaut and Cavaignes, with whose ju- 
 dicial execution the horrors of the massacre may be consider- 
 ed to have terminated. Colonel Briquemaut, who was up- 
 ward of seventy years old (he had served in the Italian wars 
 of Francis I.), had saved himself in the night of the 24th by 
 stripping and Gliding under a pile of dead bodies, from which 
 horrible shelter he made his escape to the house of the English 
 embassador, where he was discovered in the disguise of a 
 groom.* Cavaignes, " chancellor of the cause," had recently 
 been appointed Master of Requests at the admiral's petition. 
 A few days before the massacre, Charles had begged him not 
 to leave the court, as he required his advice to perpetuate the 
 happy peace which he (Cavaignes) had helped to negotiate. 
 A special commission was appointed to try the prisoners, but 
 their innocence was so manifest that the judges ordered their 
 discharge. This decision was appealed against, and after 
 another trial they were found guilty and condemned to die. 
 It was hoped they would confess. Tavannes asserts that they 
 were promised life and liberty if they would only say what 
 they were asked; but they refused; and Walsingham thus 
 describes the closing scene of their life : " On October 22, 
 the young queen was brought to bed of a daughter ; and the 
 same day, between five and six in the evening, Briquemaut 
 and Cavaignes were hanged by torch-light, the king, the queen- 
 mother, and the King of Navarre, with the king's brothers 
 and the Prince of Conde, being lookers-on. As Briquemaut 
 was going up the ladder, the under-provost of the town said 
 that the king had sent him to know whether he could say any 
 thing touching the late conjuration, which, if he would confess, 
 
 * An nccouut of this violation of asylum must have hecn reported by 
 Walsingham, but I have sought for it in vain. Sir Philip Sydney was then 
 in Paris : Charles had appointed him one of his gentlemen of the bed- 
 chamber only a few days before.
 
 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 443 
 
 he should save his life. He answered, that the king had never 
 a more faithful subject than he was ; but this I know proceed- 
 ed not of himself, but of evil councilors about him ; and so 
 lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, ' Oh my God, upon 
 whose tribunal seat I stand, and whose face I hope shortly to 
 see, thou knowest well that I know nothing nor did not so 
 much as ever think of any conjuration against the king nor 
 against his estate ; though contrariwise they have entirely put 
 the same in my process ; but I beseech my God that he will 
 pardon the king and all those that have been the cause of this 
 my unjust death, even as I desire pardon at thy hands for my 
 sins and offenses committed against thy divine majesty.' 
 Being then drawn up another step on the ladder, he uttered 
 only these words: 'I have somewhat to utter unto the king, 
 which I would be glad to communicate unto him, but see that 
 I may not.' And so shrunk up his shoulders to forbear to 
 use any farther speech. As his constancy was much com- 
 mended, so was his death much bewailed of many Catholics 
 that were beholders of the same. Cavaignes used no speech, 
 but showed himself void of all magnanimity, who before his 
 death, in hope of life, made some show to relent in religion. 
 Two things were generally much misliked at this execution : 
 the one the presence of the king, as a thing unworthy of the 
 head of justice to be at the execution of justice ; the other 
 that Briquemaut, being a gentleman, was hanged, a thing very 
 rare in France, especially he being reputed by his enemies to 
 be innocent." Charles's presence at the execution added a 
 new horror to the pangs of death : " Nero tamen subtraxit 
 oculos jiissitque scelera, non spectavit : pracipua sub Domi- 
 tiano miseriarum erat, videre et aspici." * 
 
 "Walsingham continues his narrative : " About an hour aft- 
 er the execution, the cruel and bloody people of this town, not 
 content with their death, took [their bodies] down from the 
 
 * Tacitus: Agricola. Chcisnin in his Memoires describes the king and 
 Anjou as "marris de ce que les executeurs n'etaient asscz cruels."
 
 444 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 gallows, and drew them about the streets, thrusting them 
 through with daggers and shooting of dags [pistols] at them, 
 cutting off their ears, and omitting no other kind of villainous 
 and barbarous cruelty." There were others to be executed, 
 but the queen-mother " with no small difficulty," persuaded 
 her son to respite them for awhile. " The king is now grown 
 so blooody-minded," concludes Walsingham, " that they who 
 advised him thereto do repent the same, and do fear that the 
 old saying will prove true maluni consilium consultori pes- 
 simum" * After this we can well believe the story that 
 Charles ordered torches to be held near the faces of his two 
 victims, that he might the clearer see their dying agonies. 
 When the cruel tragedy on the Greve was over, the royal 
 spectators, including Henry of Navarre, retired to a magnifi- 
 cent supper provided for them at the Hotel-de-Ville, at the 
 windows of which they had been sitting, f 
 
 About a month after the massacre, Henry of Navarre and 
 the Prince of Conde both abjured. The instrument of their 
 conversion to orthodoxy was Sureau du Rozier, at one tune 
 minister at Orleans, and the fanatic apologist of Poltrot's 
 crime ; but yielding to temptation, and partly also to fear, he 
 abjured Protestantism, and, like all new converts, was eager to 
 show his zeal by converting his late brethren. The two 
 princes listened to his arguments, and professed themselves 
 convinced ; but they only temporized with a king who was ca- 
 pable, in one of his mad bursts of passion, of ordering them to 
 execution. At the beginning of October the princes wrote to 
 the pope, expressing sorrow for their past errors and promis- 
 ing to be faithful sons of the Catholic Church in future. 
 The pope graciously accepted their recantations, and returned 
 them the necessary dispensations for their marriages. J Henry 
 
 * Walsingham to Smith, November 1. 1572. Digges, p. 278. 
 
 t The cost of this banquet is given by Sauval, iii. 368. 
 
 J The Bull (6 Kal. November, 1572) was never registered in Parliament. 
 I may add that Sureau, unable to stifle his conscience, fled to Germany, re- 
 canted, nnd died neglected by all.
 
 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 445 
 
 went farther than was necessary to show his new zeal, by abol- 
 ishing the Reformed religion in his maternal states. "M. 
 Grammont hath commission from the king," writes Walsing- 
 ham, " to suppress all preaching in Beam, and to plant there 
 the Catholic religion, which is a verification of the king's 
 [Charles] intention touching the observation of his edict ir- 
 revocable for the toleration of religion." * But the Bearnese 
 stoutly refused to act upon the order, on the ground that the 
 king was a prisoner in Paris and under constraint. 
 
 * Digges, p. 267. Letter to Smith, October 8. On September 7 he had 
 written, "that there is a compact to destroy all persons that be of the re- 
 ligion." Archwologia, xxii. 1829, p. 325.
 
 446 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 MASSACRE IN THE PROVINCES. 
 
 [August to October, 1572.] 
 
 Instructions to the Governors The Count of Tende Nantes and Alen9on 
 Massacres at Saumur, Angers, Lyons, Orleans, Troyes, Kouen, Meaux, 
 Bordeaux, and Toulouse St. Herem's letter The stolen Dispatch The 
 Governor of Bayonne The Bishop of Lisieux Chabot at Arnay-le-Duc 
 Senlis, Provins, Chateau-Thierry, Dieppe, and Nismes spared The 
 Number of Victims Contemporary Judgments Dorat's Panegyric 
 JeanLe Masle Pierre Charpentier and Sorbin Rejoicings at Rome Ex- 
 ultation of Philip II. Horror in England John Knox's Denunciation 
 The Emperor Maximilian's regret. 
 
 THE writers who maintain that the tragedy of St. Bartholo- 
 mew's Day was the result of long premeditation, support their 
 opinions by what occurred in the provinces ; but it will be 
 found after careful examination, that these various incidents 
 tend rather to prove the absence of any such premeditation. 
 Unless we suppose Catherine and her Italian advisers to have 
 been the clumsiest of conspirators, they would naturally have 
 made arrangements for a general massacre of the Huguenots 
 throughout the kingdom to take place on the same day ; but 
 it did not, and the murders committed were in many instances 
 the consequences of popular commotions that broke out after 
 the arrival of the news from Paris. * There is indeed a well- 
 known letter from the queen-mother to Strozzi,f which he 
 was not to open until the 24th of August, and in which he 
 
 * See Martyrologue, respecting Orleans, p. 712 recto; respecting Bourges, 
 724 recto; respecting Bordeaux, " il n'entendait pas que cette execution 
 passat outre et s'etendit plus avant que Paris," p. 730 recto. 
 
 1 1* is given in Olagharray, p. 628, and the Reveille-Matin.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 447 
 
 read : " This is to inform you that to-day the admiral and all 
 the Huguenots in this place are killed." But the letter is 
 manifestly spurious, and with it falls the principal item of evi- 
 dence to show premeditation. 
 
 It would appear that on the 23d, as soon as the king's as- 
 sent had been gained, instructions to massacre the Protest- 
 ants were forwarded to various parts of the country. Alberi * 
 emphatically says that there remain no traces in any provincial 
 registers of orders received to this effect ; but even were there 
 no such record, there is abundant evidence that such instruc- 
 tions were sent. Davila says that messengers were dispatched 
 on the 23d. De Thou, who was in a position to know the 
 truth, declares that verbal orders were sent ; f which is con- 
 firmed by a letter to the governor of Chartres withdrawing 
 all verbal orders.^ There is also a letter from Charles to Ma- 
 tignon, canceling all the orders he may have given by word 
 of mouth. Writing to Longueville on the 26th of August, 
 he recalls " le mandement verbal;" || and the next day he re- 
 minds the mayor of Troyes of the " letters he had received " 
 ordering the extermination of the heretics. Puygaillard, writ- 
 ing in the king's name (August 26) to the governor of Angers, 
 to put the principal Huguenots to death, bids him wait for no 
 farther orders, as he will have none. It is clear, therefore, 
 that Charles desired to act up to his resolution, to permit no 
 Huguenot to survive to reproach him with his breach of faith. 
 That his orders were not carried out, depended in many cases 
 upon the character of the governors or municipalities to whom 
 they were addressed. A messenger, named La Molle, was sent 
 to the Count of Tende, governor of Provence, with a letter or- 
 dering him to massacre all the Huguenots. A postscript, how- 
 ever, bade him neither do nor believe what La Molle told him. 
 The count, unable to reconcile these contradictory instructions, 
 sent his secretary to the king 1 , who told him to " put a few 
 
 * Vita di C. de' Medici, p. 155. t Tom. vi. lib. 52, p. 421. 
 
 % Paris : Cabinet Hist. ii. 258. Raumer, i. 282. 
 
 || Revue retrospect, v. (1834) p. 359.
 
 448 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 Huguenots to death." But Tende dying in the interval, his 
 successor, the Count of Courcis, refused to act without far- 
 ther instructions, and the result was an order, which the mes- 
 senger was directed on peril of his life to communicate to 
 none but De Courcis, " not to execute the massacre." * 
 
 Louis, Duke of Bourbon-Montpensier, governor of Brittany, 
 wrote to the municipal officers of Nantes, desiring them to 
 carry out the massacre. They refused, and their refusal is 
 commemorated in the following inscription : 
 
 " Han MDLXXII, le 8 jour de septembre, le Maire de 
 Nantes, les echevins, et les suppots de la mile, avec les j'uges- 
 consuls, reunis d la Maison Commune, font le serment de 
 maintenir celui precedemment fait de ne point contrevenir 
 d Vtldit de Pacification rendu en faveur des Calvinistes, 
 etfont defense aux habitants de se porter d aucun exces con- 
 tre eux" 
 
 At Alen9on there was no massacre, owing to the energy of 
 the governor, who, observing that the Catholics were arming 
 with a murderous intent, closed the city gates, strengthened 
 the posts, and issued a severe proclamation, forbidding any in- 
 jury to the Huguenots. The latter were ordered to assemble, 
 to give up their arms, to send in thirty-two hostages, and 
 to take a new oath of fidelity. This they did, and all were 
 spared. Matignon's name was long revered as a household 
 word among the people of Alen9on.f 
 
 At Angers the massacre had some distinct characteristics. 
 After Montsoreau, the governor of Saumur, had killed all the 
 Huguenots in that town according to the instructions from an 
 agent of the Duke of Anjou, he hastened to Angers (29th 
 August), which he reached at day-break. Ordering the gates 
 to be shut, he went to the house of La Barbee, a Huguenot 
 
 * Raumer: Hist. 16th and 17th Cent., Letter 31. 
 
 t When the Duke of Alei^on revolted against Henry III., and the city 
 rose in arms, Matignon was sent to reduce it, and as soon as the Protestants 
 saw his banners, they opened the gates to him. Odolant Desnos : Mem. 
 Hist. (fAlenyon, ii. p. 285 (8ro. Alen9on, 1787).
 
 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 449 
 
 gentleman, who escaped, but his less fortunate brother was 
 killed as he lay sick in bed. Montsoreau next called on the 
 pastor La Riviere, with whom he had long been on friendly 
 terms. Courteously saluting his wife, Montsoreau passed into 
 the garden to her husband. After the usual embrace, he 
 said : "I have the king's orders to put you to death instantly." 
 The minister asked for a few moments' delay to collect his 
 thoughts and to pray, which being granted, he commended 
 his soul to God and fell pierced through the heart. Mont- 
 soreau then went and killed two other ministers. Meanwhile 
 the news spread, and some Catholics assembled in the streets, 
 with the white cross in their hats. Montsoreaw's words 
 aroused their fanaticism : they dragged the dead bodies to 
 the river, rang the alarm-bell, and chased the Huguenots 
 from house to house. But the citizens held aloof, the magis- 
 trates interposed, and the massacre was stopped.* Later in 
 the day a messenger arrived from the Duke of Anjou, order- 
 ing the property of heretics to be set aside, it being valued at 
 100,000 livres. The highway robbers of those days gave 
 their victims the alternative of money or life : the duke took 
 both. 
 
 A week after the massacre in Paris, the Huguenots of 
 Lyons were taken one after another " like sheep," says Capi- 
 lupi, and shut up in prison. When the governor desired the 
 executioner to put some of them to death, he replied : " I am 
 not an assassin : I work only as justice commands me." But 
 this did not save them. Three hundred soldiers were found 
 ready to do the bloody work. Those confined in the arch- 
 bishop's palace were first robbed, and then cut to pieces, chil- 
 dren hanging round their parents' necks, brothers and sisters 
 exhorting one another to suffer patiently in the cause of God. 
 All who had been shut up in the Rouane, a public prison, 
 were dragged to the bridge and then flung into the river, f 
 
 * The account in the tat de France varies from that in the text. 
 
 t There is a curious story of an apothecary who discovered that the fat of 
 
 FF
 
 450 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 As night came on, the murderers, now joined by the mob, 
 threw off all restraint. " In the square of St. John," says 
 D'Aubigne, a pile of bodies was collected so vast and terrible 
 as to exceed description." In this city alone, 4000 persons, 
 including the famous musician Goudimel, are estimated to 
 have been killed ; * and yet Mandelot wrote to the king, re- 
 gretting that a few had escaped, and begging for a share of 
 the spoils.f At Aries the river became so putrid from the 
 corpses rolling down from Lyons, that the inhabitants were 
 for several days unable to drink its waters. J 
 
 At Orleans the massacre had its peculiar features of atroci- 
 ty. One La Bouilli invited his friend La Cour to supper, 
 and stabbed him as he sat at table. Taillebois, a professor of 
 law, was murdered by his own pupils. Some of them went 
 to his house and begged to see his library ; and when he 
 showed it them, they began to ask him for some of his books, 
 which he gave them. " This is not all," they said ; " we in- 
 tend to kill you." Falling on his knees, he prayed a few min- 
 utes in silence and then exclaimed, " I am ready ! slay me at 
 once." This they would not do, but drove him into the 
 
 the bodies was valuable and would fetch a high price, and of a general 
 scramble for the bodies in the river, which were dragged out, that the fat 
 might be extracted and sold. Mem. tat de France, i. 263 b. 
 
 * "In one dav," says one account, which is not probable. A contempo- 
 rary brochure more moderately sets down the total at 1800. Massacre de 
 ceux de la Rel. 1572: Mem. tat de France. 
 
 t De Thou says that the Huguenots who fled to the Celestine monas- 
 tery were killed; but Golnitz affirms the contrary: "In hanc evangeli- 
 corum truculentam necem noluisse etiam consentire dicnntur canonici 
 in sede Coelestinorum." Ulysses, p. 331. So also Mem. iat de France, i. 
 2606. 
 
 I Ten leaves, probably containing an account of the massacre, are sus- 
 piciously torn out of the Actes Consulates of the city. The Catholic his- 
 torian says briefly : " Huit jours apres, le 'memo massacre fut fait a Lyon ; 
 je n'ai rien k dire la-dessus." An expressive silence ! Montfalcon, Hist. 
 Lyon, ii. p. 685. 
 
 The order for the massacre was transmitted by Sorbin, the king's 
 preacher. The author of the Martyrologue says the murders began without 
 orders. P. 712, recto.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 451 
 
 street, where his courage failed at the sight of a poor shoe- 
 maker who lay bleeding to death. Though scarcely able to 
 walk, he was driven forward, until he came in front of the 
 Law Schools where he used to teach. There the murderers 
 put an end to his long agony. Nicholas Bongars lay at the 
 point of death when some ruffians broke into his room. They 
 respected the dying man, but murdered the apothecary who 
 was attending upon him. The next day a man who had been 
 in the habit of visiting Bongars, went to the house, and sa- 
 luting his mother at the door, as she like a good Catholic 
 was going to mass, went up stairs, stabbed the sick man, 
 wiped his dagger in the bed-clothes, and departed as he 
 had come, without betraying the least emotion. Of the 
 victims, some were tossed into a ditch, and then left to 
 be devoured by wolves and dogs ; others were thrown into 
 the Loire, which became so discolored that the Catholics 
 refused to drink the water or to eat the fish caught in it. 
 Of the fourteen hundred victims, one hundred and fifty 
 were women. 
 
 The massacre at Bordeaux did not begin until the 3d of Oc- 
 tober. The populace had been inflamed by the sermons of one 
 Auger, a Jesuit ; on Michaelmas Day he said from the pulpit : 
 " Who executed the divine judgments at Paris ? The angel 
 of God. Who in Orleans? The angel of God. Who in a 
 hundred cities of this realm ? The angel of God. And who 
 will execute them in Bordeaux ? The angel of God, however 
 man may try to resist him." The slaughter was carried out 
 by an organized band of ruffians wearing the " bonnet rouge," 
 which afterward became so famous in history. Many of the 
 Huguenots found a safe refuge in the houses of certain priests 
 and Catholic laymen, who were horrified at the barbarities 
 they had witnessed. Others found a secure asylum in the 
 castles of Ham and Trompette. 
 
 At Meaux, all the houses in the market-place were com- 
 pletely gutted, and many of their inhabitants killed. The 
 next day (August 26), the mob entered the prison, which was
 
 452 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 crammed with Huguenots to the number of two hundred and 
 more. They were called out one by one into the yard, and 
 such as sword and pike failed to kill instantly, had their brains 
 beaten out with the sledge hammers used by the butchers to 
 knock down their bullocks. Some were buried, still breath- 
 ing, in a trench dug to receive them, and when this was filled, 
 the rest were thrown into the Marne. 
 
 The news of the massacre reached Troyes on the 26th 
 of August, when the gates were immediately closed to pre- 
 vent the frightened Huguenots from escaping. Many were 
 taken to prison, but there was no general slaughter until 
 the 4th of September, when one Belin, an apothecary, arrived 
 from Paris with the king's orders of the 28th of August, 
 forbidding the Protestants to be molested.* This wretch 
 persuaded the: high bailiff and the council to murder the pris- 
 oners, and then issue the proclamation. The public execu- 
 tioner refused to lend himself to the foul plot. " It Avas 
 his- duty," he said, " to put to death only such as had been 
 legally condemned." This did not save the prisoners, who 
 were butchered by a drunken mob, and their blood flowing 
 under the gate into the street filled the humane Catholics 
 with horror. 
 
 The governor of Rouen hesitated to execute the orders he 
 had received, and asked for fresh instructions. The answer 
 being unfavorable, he locked up all the Protestants he could 
 find, and on the 1 7th of September the city gates were shut, and 
 military posts established in the squares. A band of assassins 
 then went to the prisons, and killed with clubs and daggers 
 about sixty Huguenots, according to a list they carried with 
 them. They next searched the private houses, where the num- 
 ber of victims of both sexes amounted to more than six hun- 
 dred. 
 
 On the last day of August the capitouls of Toulouse re- 
 ceived a letter from Joyeuse, lieutenant-general in Languedoc, 
 
 * See Mnrtiii : Hist. France, t. ix. p. 337, note.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 453 
 
 giving an account of the massacre of the 24th, and adding that 
 the king " would not permit any infringement of the Edict of 
 Pacification." * He farther instructed the magistrates to be 
 on the watch lest the Protestants should rise, and ordered the 
 guards to be doubled, " in the quietest way possible, so as to 
 incommode nobody." Jean d'Affis, the first president, com- 
 municated this message to the magistrates, desiring them 
 particularly to see that there were " no assemblies, riots, or 
 cruelties, to the prejudice of public tranquillity." As far as. 
 the language of the proclamation went, nothing could be more 
 conducive to peace and good-will among the followers of both 
 religions. According to the Edict, the Huguenots were for- 
 bidden to assemble for worship within a certain distance of 
 the city ; but, as their ordinary meeting-place was at Castanet, 
 a little village just within the prescribed limits, the magis- 
 trates, for some reason unknown, determined on a literal in- 
 terpretation of the law, and arrested ah 1 who were present at 
 divine worship on the 4th of September. The prisoners were 
 not ill treated, but held in safe custody until the king's pleas- 
 ure should be known. Of the 300 captured, more than 200 
 managed to escape with the connivance of their jailers. On 
 the 1st of October a number of ruffian soldiers, armed with 
 pike and arquebuse, entered Touloiise, and soon made known 
 their business by threatening peaceable citizens in the streets, 
 abusing them, as " Patarins, Parpaillots, and Huguenots."f 
 Having found a leader in one Latour, prior of the College of 
 St. Catherine, they broke open the prisons and murdered the 
 prisoners. The ruffians, now masters of the city, began to at- 
 
 * " Ne voulait que aulcune chose fust attcntee ni innovcSc centre 1'edict de 
 lapaix." Reyistre des Conseils, iv. p. 137. See also the Reyistre du Park- 
 ment for 1572. "Quest! ordini (says Homero Tortora) non giunsero a 
 tempo in molti luoghi per che la fama che vola per tutto il reame di quanto 
 era awenuto a Parigi invita cattolici di moltc citta a fare il medesimo." 
 1st. di Francia, 4to. Venezia, 1G19. 
 
 t Memoirs of Latomy, MSS. The autograph copy differs materially from 
 the printed text, which is of little value. Jacques Caches, a Huguenot, has 
 left memoirs, portions of which would repay publication.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 tack the Catholics also, for plunder, not religion, was their 
 real object. One of their victims was a priest named Guestret, 
 murdered by Latour, with whom he had a lawsuit ; * and Jean 
 Coras, the famous legist. 
 
 But, happily for human nature, the history of this period is 
 not one of unrelieved treachery and murder. There were 
 many brave and honorable gentlemen in France, who refused 
 to obey the bloody rescripts of the court. St. Herein of Mont- 
 merin, governor of Auvergne, wrote to the king : " Sire, I 
 have received an order under your majesty's seal to put to 
 death all the Protestants in my province. I respect your 
 majesty too much to suppose the letter is other than a for- 
 gery; and if (which God forbid) the order really proceeds 
 from your majesty, I have still too much respect for you 
 to obey it." Although the Huguenots of Auvergne es- 
 caped the massacre, there are reasons for doubting the au- 
 thenticity of the letter. The Dulaure manuscripts contain 
 a very circumstantial account of how one Captain Com- 
 belle was sent by the king to M. de St. Herrent (Herein) 
 with a dispatch containing orders to exterminate the Hu- 
 guenots. On the road he fell in with another traveler, who 
 had escaped from the massacre at Paris, and represented 
 himself as the bearer of instructions to Marshal Damville 
 in Languedoc to put all the Calvinists in his government to 
 death. They traveled together, and the end was that 
 Combelle's dispatch was stolen at Moulins, where they both 
 slept in the same room. The thief hurried to Issoire, 
 gave the packet to the minister Claude Baduel, bidding 
 him warn his co-religionists to flee at once. Combelle con- 
 tinued his journey, and told St. Herrent the contents of the 
 
 * Felice in a paragraph of a few lines manages to include almost as 
 many mistakes. The arrests did not take place on August 31 ; the num- 
 ber of victims was not 300, and D'Affis gave no order for their execu- 
 tion. The magistrates, having no regular police or armed force at their 
 disposal, were unable to resist the mob and the soldiers. Archives of Tou- 
 louse, ad ann.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 455 
 
 lost letter.* If this narrative be true, St. Herein could 
 hardly answer a letter he did not receive. It is certain, 
 however, that he imprisoned all the Protestants at Issoire, 
 while waiting for farther orders, and that at Aurillac in his 
 government eighty Protestants were murdered. 
 
 Viscount Orte or Orthez, governor of Bayonne, wrote a 
 letter which one would fain believe to be true, in spite of the 
 discredit recently thrown upon it : f " Sire, I have communi- 
 cated your majesty's commands to the faithful inhabitants 
 and garrison of this city. I have found among them many 
 good citizens and brave soldiers, but not one executioner." 
 One thing is certain, that the Huguenots in Bayonne were 
 saved. 
 
 When the king's lieutenant waited upon James Hennuyer, 
 Bishop of Lisieux, to communicate the orders he had received 
 to kill the Huguenots in that city, " No, no, sir," he replied, 
 " I oppose, and will always oppose, the execution of such an 
 order, to which I can not consent. I am pastor of the church 
 of Lisieux, and the people you are commanded to slay are my 
 flock. Although they are wanderers at present, having stray- 
 ed from the fold which has been confided to me by Jesus 
 Christ, the supreme pastor, they may nevertheless return, and 
 I will not give up the hope of seeing them come back. I do 
 not read in the Gospel that the shepherd ought to suffer the 
 blood of his sheep to be shed ; on the contrary, I find that he 
 is bound to pour out his own blood and give his own life for 
 them. Take the order back again, for it shall never be exe- 
 
 *This curious story will be found in the Dulatire MSS., preserved in the 
 public library of Clermont-Ferrand. This (to say nothing of the instances 
 already given) disposes of Capefiguc's " inability to find any proof of orders 
 issued by the king to massacre in the provinces." Hist, de la Reforme, iii. 
 p. 229, note. 
 
 t Capefiguc says the letter is a forgery of the age of Louis XIV. ; but it is 
 published by Agrippa d'Aubigne' in 1618. Adiram d'Aspremonte, Vicomtc 
 d'Orte (as he is sometimes called), was a cruel man, cruel to both parties. 
 Even Charles IX. was forced to write to him in 1574, and tell him to be 
 more moderate.
 
 456 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 cuted so long as I live." * And the Huguenots of Lisieux 
 were spared. 
 
 When the fatal order was brought to Arnay-le-Duc by 
 two messengers in rapid succession, Elinor Chabot, Count of 
 Charny, asked the advice of the council. That body was di- 
 vided in opinion, until a young and obscure advocate quoted 
 a law enacted by Theodosius when suffering under remorse for 
 a massacre executed by his orders at Thessalonica. By this 
 law, all governors were forbidden to carry out any such com- 
 mands in future, until the lapse of thirty days, during which 
 interval they were to demand a written confirmation of the 
 order. Moderate counsels prevailed, and two days later came 
 a fresh mandate from the king, revoking the former order. 
 Chabot, as prudent as he was brave, boldly declared that 
 " the severity and cruelty which had been exercised toward 
 the Protestants had hitherto only served to exasperate them ; 
 and that the best means of bringing them back to the Church 
 was to treat them with kindness." So that there was little 
 blood shed in Burgundy (says Do Thou), and nearly all the 
 Protestants returned to the religion of their ancestors.! 
 
 The royal orders were received at Senlis on the 24th ; but 
 the Catholics, unwilling to stain their hands with the blood 
 of their fellow-citizens, only enjoined them to leave the town, 
 which was done " in a quiet and orderly manner.''^ Bertrand 
 de Gordes, governor of Dauphiny, having received a written 
 order revoking all verbal orders, wrote to the king saying he 
 had received no orders, verbal or otherwise ; to which Charles 
 replied that " he need not trouble himself, for the orders were 
 given only to some that were about him." The historian of 
 
 * The bishop ia said to have been in Paris at this time with the court as 
 almoner. This, if true, is fatal to the correctness of the anecdote. I do 
 not lay much stress upon the language of his epitaph: "Contre lesquels 
 [the Huguenots] il ne faisait pas faute de se montrer." 
 
 t De Thon, torn. vi. p. 432 (4to ed.). See also, La Virotte : Annales 
 d'Arnay, 8vo. 1837. 
 
 J Journal of Mallet and Vauticr, Esprit de la Liyue, ii. p. 51 (Paris, 1808).
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 457 
 
 the religious wars in Dauphiny says with a "dit-on" that 
 Gordes " refused to obey the orders of the court, or at least 
 contrived to avoid carrying out his instructions." * Another 
 historian tells us that he would not believe the king could 
 have desired the death of so many innocent persons. In this 
 he was supported by the first president, " who, like all men 
 of learning, was an enemy to violence." f The king can have 
 had nothing to do with such a massacre, he said. " His power 
 and authority are abused by foreigners, and it is our duty as 
 magistrates and Frenchmen to preserve his subjects for him." 
 On October 11, Gordes issued an order that any attempt 
 upon the lives of the Huguenots would be punished with 
 death ; and at the same time certain precautionary restrictions 
 were imposed on religious assemblies. On the 18th, he exhort- 
 ed the king's officers and governors " to comfort and assist such 
 as manifest a desire to return to the true Church." J 
 
 At Provins many Huguenots thought it prudent to be con- 
 verted ; and, says Claude Haton, " for eight days and nights 
 they dared not show themselves." But there was no blood 
 shed in that little town. The garrulous chronicler tells us 
 how the Huguenot gentlemen and demoiselles of the environs, 
 notwithstanding their chateaux-forts, ran away or emigrated : 
 some to Sedan, others to Germany or Geneva. The men wore 
 white crosses on their hats and sleeves ; the women had beads 
 in their hands or fastened to their girdles. These were very 
 common practices to save life. At Chateau-Thierry, where 
 heretics were few in proportion to the population, no violence 
 was committed, and not a drop of blood was shed, though the 
 town was immediately dependent on the king. 
 
 When the governor of Dieppe received the fatal instructions, 
 
 * Long : Guerres de Reliyion dans le Davphint. De Thou (vi. 428) says 
 Gordes excused himself on the ground that the Huguenots were too strong. 
 
 t Chorier : Hist. Dauphind, fol. ii. p. 647. 
 
 J Long. The historian gives a circular (December G, l.">72), in which 
 Gordes exhorts the Huguenots to return to the Romish religion, "parceque 
 le roi s'est r&olu k n'en endurer autre."
 
 458 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 he assembled the Huguenots in the great hall of the Palace of 
 Justice and read the letter to them, following it up by a char- 
 acteristic speech : " Citizens, the orders I have received can 
 only concern rebellious and seditious Calvinists, of whom, 
 thanks be to God ! there are none in this place. We read in 
 the Gospel that love to God and our neighbor is the 
 duty of Christians ; let us profit by the lesson, which Christ 
 himself has given us. Children of the same Father, let us 
 live together as brothers, and having for each other the chari- 
 ty of the Samaritan. These are my sentiments, and I hope 
 you all share them ; they make me feel assured that in this 
 town there does not exist a man who is unworthy to live." 
 Touched by his words, says the historian, the Huguenots re- 
 canted, and vowed to live and die in the Catholic faith. 
 
 The order to sweep Nismes clear of every Huguenot with- 
 in its walls reached that venerable city on August 29, when 
 Jean de Montcalm, the juge-mage, called an extraordinary 
 council, before which he placed the royal missive. Unani- 
 mously they resolved not to act upon it. Thinking it unneces- 
 sary and possibly dangerous to make any public explanation, 
 the magistrates took every precaution to preserve order, 
 and called upon the leading men of both religions to swear 
 to watch over the safety of all and to defend each other. 
 In order to keep out strangers, every gate was closed, except 
 one, and the guard of that was given to two trusty citizens. 
 When this was done, they informed Joyeuse, the commander 
 of the province, who approved of their measures.* 
 
 What was the number of victims sacrificed to the policy of 
 Catherine and the jealousy of Anjou ? It is impossible to ar- 
 rive at any thing like a correct estimate ; for hardly two his- 
 torians give the same figures, and none of them mention the 
 grounds of their estimate. It is evident that in many in- 
 stances they are mere random guesses, and as such without 
 any weight. 
 
 *Borrcl: Hist. flgllseRef. de Nines, 8vo. Toulouse, 185C.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 459 
 
 The following table for Paris only will show the impossi- 
 bility of accepting any of the statements : 
 
 AcrriiOBtTiES. NUMBERS. 
 
 Caveyrac ) 
 
 ,. . x ;- . . . . . 
 
 La Popehmere ) 
 
 Kirkaldy * ~\ 
 
 Papyr Masson ! 2000 
 
 Tocsin 
 
 Tavannes ) 
 
 Aubigne ) qn 
 
 ~ ., . Y . . oUUU 
 
 Capilupi ) 
 
 Alva's Bulletin 3500 
 
 * nanni 1 4000 
 
 Bran tome ) 
 
 Gomez da Silva } 
 
 Mezeray . . . 5000 
 
 Simancas Archives ) 
 
 Neustadt Letter f 6000 
 
 Claude Haton J 7000 
 
 Art'de Verifier 1 
 
 Davila 
 
 Etat de France V .... 10,000 
 
 Peleus : Henry IV. j 
 
 Reveille-Matin ) 
 
 Probably the number of victims may have amounted to 
 6000; but to reduce it as low as 1600 for all France, which 
 Dr. Lingard has done, is monstrously absurd. All that we 
 know positively is that a certain number of bodies were bur- 
 ied, and beyond that all is conjecture. The length of time 
 through which the massacre was continued, is one evidence of 
 the numbers that were slain. The nuncio Salviati wrote on 
 the 15th of September: "Every night some tens of Hugue- 
 nots, caught by day in various places, are thrown into the riv- 
 er without any disturbance." On the next day the Count of 
 
 * To them of the Castle. Record Office, MS. Queen of Scots. He writes 
 at noon on the 25th. 
 
 t " Seint pleiben bey 1000 Personen und sonst pemeiner Personen iiber 
 5000 welche meisten theills ebendig, theils todt ins Wasscr geworffen, theils 
 heuffig in Campo Clericorum vergraben worden." 
 
 J "Plus de 7000 personnes bien connues, sans autres jcte'es dans la rivifero 
 qui ne furent connues." P. 679.
 
 iGO MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 St. Pol, embassador from the Duke of Savoy, wrote : " They 
 are continuing the great execution against these folks, who 
 are thrown into the river by night;" and as late as the 26th, 
 more than a month after the first outbreak, he reported : " They 
 are daily putting Huguenots to death in Paris and elsewhere." 
 The registers of the Hotel-de-Ville supply us with a curious 
 comment upon the massacre. On September 9th, fifteen livres 
 tournois were paid to the sextons of the cemetery of St. Inno- 
 cent and their eight helpers for burying the dead bodies round 
 the convent of Nigeon (Bonshommes of Chaillot) " to prevent 
 the spread of infection." On the 23d, twenty livres were paid 
 to the same men for burying in one week 1100 bodies found 
 in the neighborhood of St. Cloud, Auteuil, and Chaillot. If 
 we suppose the payments proportionate to the numbers buried, 
 those paid for on the 9th must have been nearly 1500; thus 
 giving for all Paris a known massacre of 2600. The same 
 rolls record the payment of one Nicholas Sergent, who had 
 stopped the ferries and prevented the crossing of the Seine, 
 and also 80 livres for medals struck to commemorate the 
 massacre, to be distributed among the municipal officers. 
 
 But the dead accounted for above could not have been all 
 that perished : there is indeed direct evidence to the contrary. 
 Many were buried in the city, as Oudin Petit in his cellar, 
 and there is a tradition that 475 were interred near the Church 
 of St. Gorvais, and that theirs were the bones discovered in 
 1851.* 
 
 In Alva's Bulletin we read that more than 3500 were dis- 
 patched " in a short time," and that the principal gentlemen 
 were flung into the Clerks' Well (Puis aux Clercs), where 
 "dead animals were thrown." When Gomicourt, Alva's 
 agent, had his farewell audience, he asked the queen-mother 
 for her answer to his commission. She replied that she could 
 give him no other answer than what Christ said to John's 
 
 * See note to M. Atb. Coqnerel's monograph, "La St.-Barthe'Ieiny," in 
 the Xoui-clle Revue d& Theologie.
 
 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 461 
 
 disciples : Ite et nunciate quce vidistis et audivistis : cceci vi- 
 dent, claudi ambulant, leprosi mundantur ; bidding him also 
 not forget to tell the duke in addition, Beatus qui nonfuerit 
 in me scandalizatus. Such blasphemous application of Holy 
 Writ is perhaps unparalleled in history. 
 
 An equal uncertainty prevails as to the number murdered 
 all over France. The calculations or guesses range from 
 2000 to 100,000. 
 
 AUTHORITIES. NUMBERS. 
 
 Caveyrac ...... 2000 
 
 PapyrMasson 10,000 
 
 Martyrologue ...... 15,000 
 
 De Thou } 
 
 Montfau9on ,- 20,000 
 
 La Popeliniere.) 
 
 Bonanni 25,000 
 
 Mem fitat de France >, 
 
 Felibien 30000 
 
 Pibrac 
 
 Serranus J 
 
 Davila 40,000 
 
 Sully 70,000 
 
 DeFnroribusl 100 000 
 
 Perefixe ) 
 
 If it be necessary to choose from these hap-hazard estimates, 
 that of De Thou is preferable, from the calm, unexaggerating 
 temper of the man. But whatever be the number,* not all the 
 waters of the ocean can efface the stain upon the characters of 
 those concerned in the massacre. A few of the murderers 
 men of overheated fanaticism may have truly believed that 
 they were doing God a service by putting heretics to death ; 
 for these we may feel pity even while we condemn. But 
 the majority of the assassins were impelled by the lowest of all 
 possible motives. Jealousy and ambition filled the breast of 
 Catherine de Medicis ; Anjou was envious of merit and virtues 
 
 * In the Mem. tat de France (vol. i.) the names of nearly eight hundred 
 victims all 'over the kingdom arc given. See also ii. 20 and 25.
 
 462 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 he could never hope to imitate, and which were a standing re- 
 proach to his licentiousness; Guise dreamed but of revenge; and 
 sinking lower in the scale of society, but not lower in motives, 
 the people were eager for plunder, jealous of the success of the 
 industrious and thrifty Huguenots, and ignorantly impelled to 
 murder by a clergy scarcely less ignorant than themselves. 
 We have already seen one instance in which plunder was man- 
 ifestly the object principally aimed at, and other instances are 
 not wanting. In Paris alone, 600 houses were pillaged.* 
 The Duke of Anjou was accused of conniving at the robbery 
 of the house of a wealthy lapidary, by which he put 100,000 
 crowns into his purse. The Bastard of Angouleme stripped 
 the house of the Bishop of Chartres, in which Queen Joan of 
 Navarre had lodged ; and Capilupi estimates that the king's 
 share of the plunder amounted to three millions of gold.f 
 
 " The equity of history," says the eloquent historian of the 
 Tudor line, " requires that men be tried by the standard of 
 their times." J But low as that standard was in the court of 
 Charles IX. and Catherine de Medicis, there were men honest 
 enough to condemn the crimes which have made the Feast of 
 St. Bartholomew memorable in all history. Such a purely 
 gratuitous massacre is unexampled in the annals of the world. 
 The Greeks of Lesser Asia rose and slew 80,000 Romans living 
 among them. In our own history we read that the Britons 
 massacred whole settlements of the invading Danes. In the 
 Sicilian Vespers 20,000 French were put to death without dis- 
 tinction of age or sex. But these massacres, however con- 
 demnable, were committed in the name of freedom to drive 
 out a foreign conqueror, to throw off the yoke of the invader ; 
 but the massacre of St. Bartholomew arose out of the paltriest 
 and most selfish motives. Envy, jealousy, greediness such 
 
 * Bonanni : Numism. Ponlif. i. 336. Mezcray, iii. 25G. AMgt, iii. 1082. 
 
 t "Fu il sacco e la preda grandissima per due milioni d' oro." Baschct, 
 p. 549. It is evident that these nre mere guesses. 
 
 J "II faut jugcr un temps d'aprus son esprit, ses emotions et scs mccm>-." 
 Ghtchard.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 463 
 
 were the motives of Catherine, of Anjou, and of their council- 
 ors. The plea of religion was never put forward, though it is 
 a plea too often employed to extenuate what can not be justified. 
 
 But if the moral tone of the age had not been low, Cather- 
 ine and Charles would never have contemplated so foul a deed. 
 Truth and honor, either among men or women, were held in 
 slight esteem at court; and the modem respect for human 
 life was a tiling unknown. Might made right. Private as- 
 sassination 'was a venial crime, if it were not even a lawful 
 means of getting rid of an enemy. Even Coligny did not 
 speak of the murder of Guise before Orleans in very emphatic 
 terms of condemnation. Many Catholics looked upon the 
 massacre as merely a sort of reprisals for the blood shed by 
 the Huguenots during the wars, or as a clever mode of dis- 
 abling them forever. This is the tone of Pibrac's defense and 
 of Dorat's song. The poet congratulates Charles and his 
 brother as "crowning the work of ten years' war." These 
 wars shall supply a new.Homer with matter for a new Iliad. 
 But after a struggle of ten years, all was not over. Ulysses 
 had not yet taken Troy, and above all had not killed the suit- 
 ors ! " One night did this deed. By the counsel of another 
 Pallas (Catherine de Medicis) see Pergamus overthrown, Paris 
 dead with Gaspar, and lying in blood those who aspired not 
 to the hand of Penelope, but to thy crown, O king. Their 
 detestable ambuscades were detected, their treachery antici- 
 pated. The suitors were slain like pigs." * 
 
 We need make very little allowance for poetical exaggera- 
 tion : Dorat merely gave bolder expression to what was in 
 many persons' thoughts. Jean le Masle published in 1573 a 
 " Bref Discours sur les Troubles," in which he eulogizes the 
 king and court for their share in the massacre, and writes of 
 Coligny : 
 
 * "Ut porci cccidcre proci." Exulting over Coligny, he says, with a 
 coarse play upon words : 
 
 I'.irtc Micerdntes folitns mutare pudenda, 
 Cuncta pudenda gerens, nulla pudenda gerit.
 
 464: MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 Cc malhcureux 
 
 (Qui merite cent fois avoir la roue) 
 Put mis a mort, et son corps par la bouc 
 De mainte rue honteusement traine.* 
 
 And as if to show to all the world that the massacre was not 
 an unpremeditated outbreak of fanaticism, the poet says in 
 another place : 
 
 II faut punir d'une mort tres-cruelle 
 (Comme autrefois) le premier qui grommellc 
 Contre 1'eglise, et nous pourrons encor 
 Voir luire ici le temps et le siecle d'or. 
 
 Pierre Charpentier, a renegade Protestant and the murder- 
 er of Ramus, wrote an apologetic " Lettre a Franyois Portes 
 Candiois," which has been described as a " monster unique of 
 its kind."f The most labored defense was that of Arnault 
 Sorbin, J entitled " Le Vray Resveille-matin des Calvinistes et 
 Publicans Fran9ois" (1576), and dedicated "to the eternal 
 memory and immortality of the soul of the late Charles IX." 
 He says the universe will call the Feast of St. Bartholomew 
 "le jour de la grande justice," adding that "on good days 
 good deeds are done." 
 
 Charles IX. had two medals struck: one represents the 
 king sitting on the throne .and trampling on corpses, with the 
 motto, VIRTUS IN REBELLES ; the other, Hercules destroy- 
 ing the hydra with fire, NE FEKKUM TEMKAT SIMUL IGXIB' 
 OBSTO. On the 27th of August the metropolitan bishop or- 
 
 * The year befpre (1572) he published a Chant d'Allfyresse sur la Mort de 
 Coligny, with the motto of Judas : "He went to his own." 
 
 f He charges Beza with giving orders ' ' qu'on coupast TO. aldoia aux pres- 
 tres et aux moynes, ajoutant qu'il en vouloit remplir un puy." From the 
 date of the letter (September 15), some are of opinion that it must have 
 been written before the massacre. Portes's answer is given in vol. ii. of the 
 Mem Etat de France. 
 
 % Sorbin was chaplain to Charles IX., and wrote a eulogistic account of 
 his life, in which he skips over the massacre thus : " Le jour de la St.-B. se 
 passe, oil les principaux chefs furent chaties scion leurs merites, au grand 
 regret de ce bon roy. " 
 
 See vignette on title-page.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 465 
 
 dcred a solemn procession for the following Sunday to thank 
 God for this happy beginning (de felici incepta extirpatione 
 heresium). On the 25th of August, 1583, William Cecil 
 wrote to Lord Burghley : " Upon St. Bartholomew's Day we 
 had here [Paris] solemn processions and other tokens of tri- 
 umph and joy in remembrance of the slaughter committed 
 this time eleven years past." * The procession was continued 
 for twenty years, until Henry IV. entered Paris. In 1602, 
 when the Landgrave of Hesse visited Henry IV. and after- 
 ward traveled through France, he left Marseilles before the 
 Feast of St. Bartholomew to escape the invitation of the 
 Duke of Guise, then governor of Provence, who celebrated 
 " that day of mournful memory by running at the ring, by 
 balls and banquets."f 
 
 Some defended the massacre as a great, act of state policy. 
 Among them was Gerard de Groesbeck, an enlightened tol- 
 erant prelate, who governed the principality of Liege. Re- 
 plying to Alva's bulletin announcing the slaughter, he calls it 
 " a clear sign that our Lord God wishes to arrange matters 
 for the greater tranquillity of his service."! But Charles ev- 
 idently felt less confident. Writing to De Cely, the president 
 of the Parliament of Paris, he ordered him to keep " very 
 secret " any papers he might have relative to the arrangements 
 made for the massacre, so that they might not get into print, 
 adding that he had done the same with the documents in his 
 possession. Does this refer to some mystery that has es- 
 caped the eyes of the historians of the massacre ? 
 
 When the news of the massacre reached Home, the exulta- 
 tion among the clergy knew no bounds. The Cardinal of 
 
 * Ellis : Tetters (sec. scr.) iii. p. 23. 
 
 t Rommel : Corresp.ined.de Henri IV. Paris, 1840. 
 
 I Bruxelles, Bulletin, ix. 1841 (pt. 1), p. 5GO. 
 
 March, 1573; Revue retrospect, iii. 1835, p. 195. Sir Henry Ellis 
 (Arcftccologia, xxii. 1829, p. 323) held it to be "a strong proof of a deliberate 
 plot," that the documents on this subject had disappeared from the Public 
 Records in France ; but we have given ample evidence that such is not the 
 case. 
 
 Go
 
 466 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 Lorraine rewarded the messenger with a thousand crowns ; 
 the cannon of Saint Angelo thundered forth a joyous salute ; 
 the bells rang out from every steeple ; bonfires turned night 
 into day ; and Gregory XIII.,* attended by the cardinals and 
 other ecclesiastical dignitaries, went in long procession to the 
 Church of St. Louis, where the Cardinal of Lorraine chanted a 
 Te Deum. A pompous Latin inscription in gilt letters over 
 the entrance describes Charles as an avenging angel sent 
 from heaven . (" angelo percussore divinitus immisso ") to 
 sweep his kingdom from heretics.f A medal was struck to 
 commemorate the massacre,! and in the Vatican may still be 
 seen three frescoes by Vasari describing the attack upon 
 the admiral, the king in council plotting the massacre, and the 
 massacre itself. Gregory sent Charles the golden rose ; and 
 four months after the massacre, when humaner feelings 
 might have been supposed to have resumed their sway, he 
 listened complacently to the sermon of a French priest, the 
 learned but cankered Muretus, who spoke of " that day so 
 full of happiness and joy when the most holy father re- 
 ceived the news and went in solemn state to render thanks to 
 God and St. Louis. . . . That night the stars shone with 
 greater lustre, the Seine rolled her waters more proudly to 
 cast into the sea the corpses of those unholy men ;" and so 
 on in a strain of rhapsody unendurable by modern ears. 
 With such damning evidence as this against the Church of 
 
 * Mezeray and Do Sancy call the pope, Innocent XIII. ; Brantome and 
 Sully, Pius V. ; but the latter died on 1st May, 1572. 
 
 f Twelve months after the massacre, the cardinal pnhlicly applauded 
 Charles to his face for his "holy dissimulation." Dale's dispatch : Macin- 
 tosh, Hist. Engl. iii. 226, note. 
 
 | The genuineness of this medal has been disputed on very insufficient 
 grounds. It is engraved in Bonanni's Numismata Ponttficum (2 vols. fol. 
 Roma:, 1G89) torn. i. p. 336. It is No. 27 of the series of Gregory XIII. 
 L'Estoile mentions it, under "Lundi, 30 juin, 1618," as the "piece que le 
 pape Gregoire XIII. fit faire a Rome 1'an 1572." 
 
 " In Constantini qua? nunc et visitnr aula." Thuanus Posteritati. The 
 outline of one of these frescoes in the frontispiece to this volume is taken 
 from De Potter's Lettres de Pie V.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 467 
 
 Rome, a recent defender of that church vainly contends * that 
 the clergy had no part in the massacre, and that the rejoicings 
 were over rebels cut off in the midst of their rebellion, and not 
 heretics murdered for their religion. 
 
 Periere latebrse 
 
 Tot scelerum ; populo venia est erepta nocenti, 
 Agnovere suos.f 
 
 There is no retreat for the Church which approved of and 
 justified such a crime, even if the victims were political rebels.^ 
 
 Philip II. was, if possible, more delighted than the pope. 
 When he received the news, he laughed aloud for the first 
 time in his life ; for Charles had not only destroyed heresy, 
 but weakened France by the murder of so many veteran sol- 
 diers. And Flanders, too, was safe ! || He professed to be 
 quite offended with St. Goar and all who " tried to make him 
 believe that it had taken place on a sudden and without delib- 
 eration."^ The news reached him on the 12th of September, 
 and on the 1 8th he told the Marquis of Ayamonte, his embas- 
 sador at Paris, to congratulate the king "for a resolution so 
 honorable, Christian, and valiant;" and that the news was 
 "one of the greatest pleasures he had ever known."** To 
 
 * See Dublin Review for October, 1865. 
 
 t Lucan, iv. 192. 
 
 I In Gregory's instructions to Cardinal des Ursins (Fabio Orsini), he is to 
 exhort Charles "ut cocptis insistat fortiter, neque curam asperis remediis 
 inchoatam prospere, perdat leniora miscendo. " Bonanni, i. p. 323, 336, No. 
 xxvii. Ann. Ecdes. ad ann. 1572, in Potter. Hist, du Christ, vii. p. 330. 
 
 " Who otherwise never laughed." St. Goar to Queen ; Raumer, i. p. 
 199. 
 
 || " Deconcertaron todos los planes del gabinete do Isabel [Elizabeth of 
 England] d impedieron que se realizase su famosa liga con Francia." Mem. 
 Acad. Madrid, vii. p. 374. 
 
 ^[Juan de Cuniga, erabassador at Rome, writes to Philip II. that "the 
 French here declare that the king meditated this stroke since the day he 
 made peace ;" but in another place he adds, that " he was credibly informed, 
 if the assault on the admiral was projected a few days before, and author- 
 ized by the king, all the rest was inspired by circumstances." Bulletin Acad. 
 Set. Bruxelles, xvi. (1849) p. 250. 
 
 ** " Uno de los mayores contentamientos que he recibido en mi vida."
 
 468 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 Catherine, who had spoken of " God's favor in giving her son 
 the means of getting rid of his subjects, rebels against Heaven 
 and their king, and of preserving himself from their hands," * 
 he replied : " The just punishment inflicted on the admiral and 
 his followers was an act of such courage and prudence, and of 
 so great service to God's glory and honor, and such universal 
 benefit to Christendom . . . that it was the best and most de- 
 lightful news I could receive." f Philip went even farther 
 than this, urging the king to exterminate all the heretics in 
 his dominions, and offering his services toward so desirable an 
 end. There is a story in Brantome that Philip sent the letter 
 containing the first account of the massacre to the Admiral of 
 Castile, who received it while at supper, and thinking to pro- 
 mote the cheerfulness of his guests, read it aloud. The Duke 
 of Inf antado, one of the party, asked if Coligny and his friends 
 were Christians. He was answered in the affirmative. " How 
 is it, then, that being Frenchmen and Christians, they have 
 been killed like brutes ?" " Gently, duke," said the admiral, 
 " do you not know that war in France means peace for Spain ?" 
 
 Alva, who was more clear-sighted, condemned the massacre ; 
 and Micheli, the Venetian embassador, affirms that all think- 
 ing men, without distinction of creed, protested against the 
 crime, denouncing it as an act of unbridled tyranny, which none 
 but an "Italiana Fiorentina e di casa dei Medici" could con- 
 trive, and none but Italians carry into execution. 
 
 In England a thrill of horror ran through the nation on re- 
 ceiving intelligence of the slaughter. A treaty had just been 
 concluded with France, and negotiations were actively proceed- 
 ing for the marriage of Alen9on with Elizabeth. On a sud- 
 den it was perceived that the nation had been duped, and that 
 popery was as dangerous as ever. For some days the queen 
 refused to receive the French embassador: at length he was 
 summoned to Richmond, where the court was staying. Hume 
 
 * Letter of August 25. Simancas Archives. 
 
 t "La mejor y mas nlegre nueve que al preseme me pudiera venir." 
 Gachard : Simancas Archives.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 469 
 
 thus describes the scene : " A melancholy sorrow sat on every 
 face: silence as the dead of night reigned through all the 
 chambers of the royal apartment; the courtiers and ladies, 
 clad in deep mourning, were ranged on each side, and allowed 
 the embassador to pass without offering him a salute or a fa- 
 vorable look, until he was admitted to the queen herself." 
 La Mothe-Fenelon candidly expressed his disapprobation of 
 the murder, and declared that he was ashamed to be counted 
 a Frenchman.* Lord Burghley told him in most undiplomatic 
 language, that " the Paris massacre was the most horrible 
 crime which had been committed since the crucifixion of 
 Christ. ... It was a deed of unexampled infamy." Sir 
 Thomas Smith wrote to Walsingham : " Grant that the admi- 
 ral and his friends were guilty, what did the innocent men, 
 women, and children at Lyons ? What did the sucking chil- 
 dren and their mothers at Rouen, and Caen, and elsewhere? 
 Will God sleep . ? " But more plainly still spoke Knox to 
 Du Croc, the French embassador: "Go, tell your king," said 
 the bold apostle of Scotland, " go tell your master, that God's 
 vengeance shall never depart from him nor from his house ; 
 that his name shall remain an execration to posterity ; and 
 that none proceeding from his loins shall enjoy the kingdom 
 in peace unless he repent."f 
 
 In Germany the sense of horror was hardly less than in 
 England. The Emperor Maximilian II. thus expressed his 
 feelings on the matter : " As for that strange action so tyran- 
 nically committed upon the admiral and his confederates, I 
 can by no means approve it, and it is with great sorrow 
 of heart I am informed that my son-in-law suffered himself 
 to consent to so foul a massacre. Now, though I know that 
 others govern more than he, yet that will not excuse the fact 
 or palliate the villainy. . . . He has so stained his honor with 
 this piece of work, that he will not easily wash out the spot. 
 
 * Burghley to Wnlsinglmm, September 9, 1572, in Digges, p. 247. 
 + M'Crie : Life of Knox (1841), p. 337.
 
 470 MASSACEE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 May God forgive those who have had a hand in it ; for I very 
 much apprehend that in course of time the same treatment 
 will be returned for them. Matters of religion are not to be 
 ordered or decided by the sword." * When Henry of Anjou 
 was on the way to Poland, he stopped at Heidelberg, where 
 the elector-palatine, when showing him over the castle, drew 
 his attention to tAVO pictures: one a portrait of Coligny, 
 another a representation of his death. " Of all the French 
 nobles it has been my good fortune to know," said he, " I 
 esteem the original of this portrait to have been the most 
 zealous for the glory and welfare of his country, and his loss is 
 a public calamity which his most Christian majesty will never 
 be able to repair." 
 
 * Brandt : Hist. Rff. of Low Countries (Chamberlaync's transl.), fol. Lond. 
 1720, vol. i. p. 329.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 471 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 
 THE CLOSING SCENE. 
 
 [1572-1574] 
 
 Reaction Tolerant Protestations of Government Walsingham's disbelief 
 and caution Renewal of Civil War Mission of Cardinal Orsini Siege 
 of Rochelle Honorable terras of Capitulation Siege of Sancerre Fam- 
 ine Horrible scenes Capitulation Meeting at Montanban Troubled 
 state of France Intrigues of Alen9on Shrove-Tuesday plot La Mole 
 and Coconnas executed Charles falls ill Conversation with Henry of 
 Navarre Charles's visions His Huguenot nurse Her exhortation's The 
 King's remorse His dying words Suspicions of Poison His character 
 His married life Judgment of Posterity. 
 
 THE story of the massacre has been told, but this history 
 would be incomplete if it were not continued to the death of 
 the principal character in that memorable tragedy. As kings 
 are esteemed great and glorious by the noble deeds done in 
 their reigns, so must they bear the odium of the crimes perpe- 
 trated under the cloak of their authority. A few pages will 
 suffice for a brief record of the last twenty months of the life 
 of the most wretched Charles. 
 
 The court had gained nothing by their treachery. The 
 German Protestant powers were alienated, and the English 
 nation shrank in horror from the French alliance. Charles 
 must now conciliate Spain, a power which he had always dis- 
 liked, and which he now hated with all the intensity of impo- 
 tence. Besides Avhich, a reaction had set in : the influence of 
 the Moderate party once more began to be felt. " This man- 
 ner of proceeding," wrote Walsingham, on the 13th Septem- 
 ber, "is by the Catholics themselves utterly condemned." 
 Cardinal Fabio Orsini (Des Ursins), whom the pope had sent 
 to congratulate the king on the massacre, and urge him to
 
 472 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 accept the decrees of the Council of Trent, was surprised to 
 find that the atrocities of Axigust were not thought of so high- 
 ly in France as at Rome. The general feelings of the people, 
 which had been surprised, had recovei'ed their sway, and they 
 were ashamed of themselves and of their rulers, who had 
 played upon their loyalty. 
 
 Catherine had gained nothing. She was so entirely at the 
 mercy of the Guise faction, which consisted of all that was 
 most violent in France, that she was forced to follow where 
 they led. She was fully conscious of the terrible mistake she 
 had made, and bitterly must she have repented it in after 
 years ; but now her sole aim was to re-assure the disheartened 
 Huguenots, and soften the impression which the news of the 
 massacre had created in foreign courts. Her embassador in 
 London was instructed to make the most lavish protestations 
 of tolerance ; and in Paris both Catherine and Charles tried to 
 convince Walsingham that they were hurried away to the 
 committal of a deed necessary to their safety, but entirely un- 
 connected with religion. The far-seeing Englishman was not 
 to be deceived by their fair professions ; but wrote home again 
 and again, that "now there is neither regard had to word, 
 writing, or edict," and that " nothing is meant but extremity 
 toward those of the religion." * 
 
 During the massacre and for some time after it, the Hugue- 
 nots were so panic-stricken that they seemed incapable of the 
 commonest actions for preserving their lives. But as soon as 
 they recovered from their consternation, they once more ran 
 to arms, and France was again exposed to the very evils which 
 the massacre was intended to make impossible. Civil war 
 now became justifiable in the eyes of the Reformed party ; for 
 horrible as it might be to draw the sword against a brother, 
 it seemed less horrible than to sit still and suffer that brother 
 to cut your throat. They were not fighting against the crown, 
 but against a tyrant who had stained his hands with the blood 
 
 * Walsingham to Smith, IGth and 24th September.
 
 MASSACKE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 473 
 
 of his people. It was a nice distinction, but distinctions 
 equally nice were drawn at the commencement of our Great 
 Rebellion. Each party strove to justify their appeal to arms 
 by showing that law and justice were on their side. When 
 the citizens of Nismes were summoned to admit the royal 
 troops, they were told that firmness alone could save them, 
 and they kept their gates shut. Rochelle and Sancerre, Au- 
 benas, Sommieres, Milhaud, Anduze, and scores of other towns, 
 large and small, did the same, so that in a short time the whole 
 country from the Channel to the Mediterranean was again di- 
 vided into two hostile camps. The Protestants were so exas- 
 perated and so desperate, that compromise seemed impossible. 
 Unhappily, most of their leaders had perished in the massacre. 
 La Xoue was still left them himself a host ; but Henry of 
 Xavarre and the Prince of Conde were prisoners at court. 
 Still there was no shrinking from the unequal strife : the Hu- 
 guenot veterans left their farms and their shops, and rallied 
 round the gentry of their neighborhood. But their force was 
 small, while the king was soon able to put four armies in the 
 field, one of which was marched against. Sancerre, and another 
 against Rochelle. Biron, and afterward Anjou, commanded 
 the latter, which was by far the best appointed. It was com- 
 posed of veteran troops, and counted the Dukes of Guise and 
 Alen9on, Henry and Conde, among its officers. 
 
 Rochelle was admirably adapted for a place of refuge where 
 the Huguenots could make a last stand in defense of religious 
 freedom. On the land side it was protected by marshes, which 
 allowed of only one narrow approach from the north. Toward 
 the sea it was hardly more accessible. The stormy nature of 
 the coast prevented a successful blockade, and the gales that 
 drove off a hostile fleet were favorable to the entrance of 
 friends. The city itself Avas fortified according to the best 
 rules of the military art of that day, with broad ditches, thick 
 ramparts, and threatening bastions. But strong as it was by 
 its position among the marshes of Poitou, it had been made 
 stronger still during the interval left its inhabitants by the tar-
 
 474 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 cly and irresolute movements of the court. The garrison con- 
 sisted of 1500 veteran soldiers and 2000 well-trained citizens, 
 the stores of all kinds were ample, and aid was coming from 
 England. The commander of the city was the brave and up- 
 right La Noue the chevalier sans peur et sans reproche of 
 the Huguenot party, and not unworthy successor of the great 
 Coligny. Being a prisoner in the hands of Alva at the time 
 of the massacre, he fortunately escaped death ; and, on his res- 
 toration to liberty, he went to court, where the king received 
 him with open arms and gave him the confiscated estates of 
 Teligny. When the Rochellers closed their gates, he was 
 commissioned by Charles IX. to treat with them and try to 
 procure their submission. The result was not what the king 
 expected, for La Noue joined the citizens, and was made goA'- 
 ernor. Here, while fighting bravely and doing his best to 
 preserve the city, he never lost an opportunity of recommend- 
 ing conciliatory measures. 
 
 The Catholic party made it a point of honor .to reduce the 
 capital of Protestantism. The siege was begun with a vigor 
 that would have honored a better cause. From the hills 
 which commanded the defenses a continual storm of fire was 
 poured upon the devoted city. Assault after assault was gal- 
 lantly made and repelled with equal spirit and determination. 
 Even the women mounted the walls, cheering the combatants, 
 tending the wounded, carrying ammunition, water and food 
 to the soldiers, and sometimes with a boldness beyond their 
 sex wielding the weapons that had fallen from dying hands. 
 These alone, occasionally aided by the ministers, hurled from 
 huge caldrons floods of boiling water and melted pitch upon 
 the assailants in the breach. For five months Anjou attacked 
 the place in vain each month diminishing the ardor of the 
 besiegers. 
 
 The siege would probably have been more closely pressed 
 (instead of being relaxed) as time went on, had there been 
 unity of purpose in the royal army. Cabals were formed 
 among the officers, some of whom refused to obey the orders
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 475 
 
 of a man who was openly charged with the murder of the ad- 
 miral. Strange stories circulated through the camp. Men 
 told one another with a shudder how one day, when the Duke 
 of Guise was playing at hazard, blood dropped from his hand 
 as he threw the dice on the table.* But there was perfect 
 harmony among the besieged, although La None had quitted 
 the city where his courage, military ability, and simple char- 
 acter had been poorly appreciated. The pastors and he were 
 constantly at variance ; they thwarted his plans and excited 
 the people against him. Brave as were the Rochellers, they 
 must have yielded at last but for the election of Anjou to the 
 crown of Poland. This made him listen readily to pacific 
 counsels, and on the llth July, 1573, a treaty was concluded 
 by which the inhabitants surrendered on the following condi- 
 tions : That there should be a complete amnesty for the past ; 
 that the cities of Montauban, Nismes, and La Rochelle should 
 retain their old privileges ; that the Reformed should enjoy 
 freedom of worship, provided they met in small numbers and 
 unarmed ; that the gentry might celebrate marriages and bap- 
 tisms in their own houses, provided not more than ten per- 
 sons were present ; that all prisoners for religious offenses 
 should be set at large ; and that all who desired to leave the 
 kingdom might sell their goods freely and go Avhere they 
 pleased, except into enemy's country. Such good terms might 
 not have been obtained but for two things : the siege had cost 
 40,000 men in battle or by disease, and the king had neither 
 money nor credit to pay his troops. 
 
 When the inhabitants of Sancerre heard that they were not 
 included in the treaty of Rochelle, they determined to perish 
 rather than surrender. The little town was excepted, because 
 the Catholics imagined its fall to be near and inevitable ; but 
 another motive was assigned, namely, that as the city belonged 
 to a particular seigneur, the king (who had suddenly become 
 
 * Ranke : Franz. Gesch. t. iv. ch. 4. This is said in one account to hare 
 occurred on the eve of the massacre, when he was playing with Henry of 
 Navarre. St. Foix : Essais hist, siir Paris, i. 74.
 
 476 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 scrupulous) would not prejudice the rights of the superior 
 lord. In January, 1573, an army of 5000 infantry, 500 horse, 
 and 1600 sappers sat down before this petty town, whose gar- 
 rison consisted of about 800 men. After summoning the 
 place to surrender, La Chatre opened the trenches, and from 
 two batteries of sixteen guns discharged 2000 shot in two 
 months. By the middle of March he had made a breach 300 
 paces wide, but failed to carry it by storm. Drawing his lines 
 still closer, he entirely cut off all external relief, so that in the 
 beginning of April the towns-folk began to run short of food. 
 They eat the asses and mules, and afterward fell to horses, 
 dogs, cats, mice, moles, and leather, and, sinking lower still, 
 tried horns, harness, wild roots, and parchment. " I have seen 
 some served up," writes an eye-witness, " on which the writing 
 was still visible,. and one might read from the pieces placed 
 upon the table to be eaten." By the end of June, three-fourths 
 of the inhabitants had no bread to eat. Some attempted sub- 
 stitutes of flax-seed, others of all kinds of herbs, mixed with 
 bran, others even tried straw, nut-shells, and slate, by which 
 the stomach was distended and the pangs of hunger were 
 temporarily assuaged. Grease and tallow served for soups 
 and for frying : " Yea, some (a strange thing and never heard 
 of) labored to encounter the cruelty of their hunger by the ex- 
 crements of horses and men." But there is worse to be told. 
 On the 19th June a laboring man and his wife "satisfied 
 their hunger with the head and entrails of their young 
 daughter, about three years old." They were tried and exe- 
 cuted for the murder, for which there was the less excuse, as 
 that very day they had been " relieved with a pottage made 
 of herbs and wine." * The young children under twelve al- 
 most all died. A boy only ten years old, seeing his parents 
 
 * Agrippa d'Aubignc, unless he refers to another story, says the child was 
 "disinterred and then devoured" by its parents, who were condemned, the 
 man to be burned alive, and the woman to be hanged. See also Mem. Ktat. 
 de France, ii. 224. Jean de Leri : Hist. Sieye de R.\ Paris: Cab, Hist. vii. 
 There is a Latin version, Heidelbg. 157G.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 477 
 
 weeping over him, said : " Mother, why do you cry because I 
 am hungry ? I do not ask you for bread, for I know you 
 have none. But as it is God's will that I should die, I must 
 be content. Did not holy Lazarus suffer hunger?" And 
 with these words, adds De Serres, " he gave back his soul to 
 God." The historian sums up in this short but pregnant sen- 
 tence: "During the siege, fourscore men died by the sword, 
 but of starvation above five hundred." On the 19th August, 
 through the intervention of the Polish deputies, the in- 
 habitants were granted honorable terms of capitulation.* 
 
 But the Huguenots were not intimidated. On the anniver- 
 sary of the massacre in Paris, they assembled at Montauban, 
 and demanded the strict fulfillment of the treaty of St. Ger- 
 niains. They went farther, indeed, and required, among 
 other things, that the open exercise of their religion should be 
 permitted everywhere in France ; that they should pay tithes 
 to their own ministers only ; that such of the clergy as had 
 embraced the Reformed doctrines and married should be al- 
 lowed the privileges of citizenship ; that the authors and per- 
 petrators of the August massacres should be punished ; and 
 that a parliament or supreme court of justice, composed of 
 Huguenots only, should be appointed to try all causes in which 
 they were concerned. 
 
 "When their petition was presented to the king, he listened 
 and made no remark ; but Catherine haughtily replied : " If 
 Conde were alive and in the heart of France with 100,000 
 horse and foot, he would not ask one-half of what these people 
 demand." Their prayer was refused ; and had it been grant- 
 ed, we may doubt whether the condition of the Huguenots 
 would have been much improved. France seemed to be giv- 
 en over to all the evils that misgovernment, which is rarely 
 unaccompanied with other and more damning vices, can bring 
 upon a nation. Although the Duke of Anjou had been elect- 
 
 * Discount de Fextreme Famine, etc. par Jean Leri : Arc/lives curieuses, viii. 
 p. 19. Mem. Etat (Je France, ii. 219 b (ed. 1578).
 
 478 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 ed King of Poland, and had departed for his kingdom, his 
 evil influence remained behind. The court was the arena of 
 the most disgraceful intrigues : honor among men, chastity 
 among women, had become unmeaning words. The Duke of 
 Aleii9on, a poor weak fool, gaming courage by the absence of 
 the more resolute Anjou, entered into all sorts of schemes to 
 prevent his brother's return to France and secure the rever- 
 sion of Charles's throne to himself. Two parties looked up to 
 him as their head ; the Politicians and the Huguenots. The 
 threads of the intrigues, in which he was a mere stalking- 
 horse, are difficult to unravel, and it is scarcely within the 
 scope of this history to make the attempt. It is sufficient to 
 say that the result was a plot for a general rising of the Hu- 
 guenot party on Shrove-Tuesday, 22d February, 1574, with 
 the object of driving Catherine from court, excluding Anjou 
 from the succession, and making Monsieur as Alenon was 
 now called lieutenant-general of the kingdom and heir to the 
 throne. Great was the consternation at St. Germains when 
 the news arrived that La Noue had surprised Lusignan ; that 
 Fontenay, Royau, Talmont, Coulombier, and other places had 
 opened their gates to the Huguenots ; and that a body of cav- 
 alry under Guitry was almost at the palace gates. All fled ; 
 Charles alone refusing to move : " Why could they not have 
 waited for my death?" he asked, as he lay on his sick-bed 
 to him the bed of death. The ministers and their followers 
 hurried away as soon as possible, some in disguise, some by 
 land, others by the river, others by circuitous routes. Agrip- 
 pa d'Aubigne gives an amusing though exaggerated de- 
 scription of the " flight of the courtiers." It was a race who 
 should reach Paris first, he says. " Half-way from St. Ger- 
 mains, the cardinals of Bourbon, Lorraine, and Guise, with 
 Birague the chancellor and Morvilliers, were met mounted on 
 spirited chargers, grasping the pommels of their saddles to 
 keep themselves steady; and feeling as much affrighted at 
 their horses as they did at the enemy. They were followed 
 by two retainers only of all their sumptuous trains." The
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 479 
 
 movement ended in complete failure, and cost the lives of sev- 
 eral persons, the best known being La Mole and Coconnas, 
 whose fate alone has rescued them from oblivion. Joseph 
 Boniface, Lord of La Mole, was a vain, frivolous intriguer, 
 whom Charles IX. so detested that he is reported to have 
 twice commanded Anjou to strangle the wretched sycophant 
 who preyed upon the weakness of Alen9on.* He is said also 
 to have been in the good graces of Queen Margaret, who de- 
 sired his bleeding head to be brought to her. On seeing the 
 hideous sight, she burst into a violent transport of rage and 
 grief, kissing the lifeless features and bathing them with 
 her tears.f Coconnas Avas a Piedmontese noble and cap- 
 tain of the guard to Monsieur. When on the scaffold, he 
 stamped with vexation, exclaiming to the spectators: "You 
 see how it is ; the little ones are caught, and the big ones 
 are left." There was an attempt to implicate Henry of Na- 
 varre in the plot ; and though it failed,J he was still kept 
 prisoner at the court. Marshals Montmorency and Cosse 
 were in like manner detained in the Bastile for many 
 months. The charlatan Ruggieri, who lent himself to any 
 vile scheme, was sent to the galleys, but was soon released 
 by Catherine, and rewarded by the gift of the rich abbey of 
 St. Mahe. 
 
 But the end was at hand. Charles, whose health had been 
 slowly declining since the massacre, now became seriously ill. 
 He suffered extreme pain, and had frequent fainting fits; yet 
 from, hatred of Anjou and abhorrence of his mother, he still 
 clung to the royal power. A few days before his death, when 
 the English embassador, Ley ton, arrived at Vincennes, he in- 
 
 * Among other charges, La Mole was accused of endeavoring to destroy 
 the king's life by witchcraft ; by means of a waxen image having a needle 
 pierced through the heart, which an Italian astrologer, Cosmo Ruggieri, 
 had prepared for him. 
 
 t " Mollis vita, mollior intcritus." Punning epitaph on La Mole. 
 
 J His defense was written by his wife Margaret, " God giving her the 
 grace to compose it." Mmotres.
 
 480 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 sisted upon giving him audience, and for three-quarters of 
 an hour listened patiently to the envoy's harangue, replying 
 to it in a few pertinent remarks. Much of his suffering was 
 mental ; his conscience was smitten with an incurable wound. 
 As he felt his last fatal illness coming on, he sent for Henry 
 of Navarre, who had to pass through the vaults of the castle 
 between a double line of guards under arms ready to dispatch 
 him. Henry started back a few paces, clapped his hand on 
 his sword, and refused to advance. It was a sensational trick 
 of Catherine's. Being assured there was no danger, he pro- 
 ceeded and entered the king's room, where Charles received 
 him affectionately. " I have always loved you," he said ; 
 " and to your care I confide my wife and daughter I com- 
 mend them to your love." The king went on cautioning him 
 to distrust : the name was not distinctly heard by the per- 
 sons in the chamber; but Catherine, who still hovered like 
 an evil genius over her son, remarked: "Sire, you should 
 not say that." "Why not?" asked Charles, "is it not 
 true ?" Probably he was speaking of his brother of Anjou. 
 Henry had no opportunity of obeying the king's dying in- 
 junctions : the child did not live, and the mother returned to 
 Germany. 
 
 Charles could not sleep at night, and often when he had 
 closed his eyes" from very weakness, he would start up, ex- 
 claiming that he heard strange sounds in the air. Music was 
 employed to soothe his irritability, and the voice of his fa- 
 vorite chorister, Lassus, or fitienne le Hoi, chanting the peni- 
 tential Psalms, often lulled him to sleep. He saw nothing 
 but blood around him, and the ghosts of those he had caused 
 to be murdered stood threateningly at his bedside. As his 
 malady increased, he began to spit and vomit blood ; and in 
 the paroxysms of his pain, the blood would ooze through his 
 skin at every pore* a symptom which the Huguenots re- 
 garded as a mark of the divine displeasure. 
 
 * This bloody sweat is an ordinary though rare pathological phenomenon.
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 481 
 
 His nurse, Philippe Richarde, was a Huguenot, who had 
 reared him when an infant, and whom he loved to the last. 
 One night as she sat watching by his bedside, she heard him 
 sobbing, and as she drew aside the curtains to learn what 
 was the matter, he exclaimed through his tears : " Oh nurse, 
 my dear nurse, what bloodshed and murder ! Oh ! that I 
 should have followed such wicked advice. Pardon me, O 
 God, and have mercy on me. . . . What shall I do ? I am 
 lost. . . I am lost." The nurse soothed him, and bade him 
 trust in the Lord. " The blood is upon those who caused 
 you to shed it," she added. "If you repent of the murders, 
 God will not impute them to you, but cover them with 
 the mantle of his Son's righteousness, in which alone you 
 must seek refuge. But for God's sake let your majesty 
 cease weeping." Hereupon she went to get a dry hand- 
 kerchief, for the king's was all wet with tears. When he 
 had taken it, he made a sign to her to go away and let him 
 sleep.* 
 
 The next day Catherine hurried into the sick-chamber with 
 good news : Montgomery was a prisoner in her hands Mont- 
 gomery, whom she had never forgiven as the innocent cause 
 of her husband's death. But to Charles all such earthly pas- 
 sions were now indifferent. " Madame," he said to his moth- 
 er, " such things affect me no longer : I am dying." On 
 Whitsunday, 30th May, 1574, Charles received the last rites 
 of the Church from the hands of Sorbin and the learned Am- 
 yot, Bishop of Auxerre.f Catherine, Alenyon, Henry, and 
 
 Dr. Bourdin describes the case of a farm-servant, thirty-three years old, 
 from whose forehead blood suddenly began to issue and continued to flow 
 for half an hour (April, 1859). In No. 40 of the Gazette Ilebdomadaire 
 (1859), Dr. Jules Parrot gives the case of a lady who had suffered from 
 these hemorrhages from six years of age, and which continued after her 
 marriage. Chemical analysis and microscopic examination combine to 
 prove that the liquid thus secreted is truly blood. 
 
 * Journal de L'Estoile. I am afraid the authority is not very good. See 
 also Peleus : Vie de Henri IV. ii. pp. 385-390. 
 
 t Better known as the translator of Plutarch than ns Grand Almoner of 
 France. 
 
 HH
 
 482 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 Margaret, with the officers of state, were present, and par- 
 took of the consecrated elements. It does not appear that 
 his queen was there, but we learn that she was often seen 
 kneeling, and in tears, before the altar of the castle chapel, 
 where " she was still to be found when the soul of her hus- 
 band and lord passed from this Avorld." After confession, 
 Charles rallied a little, and had strength to direct his minis- 
 ters to obey the queen-mother as they would have obeyed 
 himself. But his weakness soon returned : he breathed with 
 such difficulty that he could scarcely bid a tender farewell to 
 his mother, after which he faintly whispered : " If Jesus my 
 Saviour should number me among his redeemed !" a late 
 and involuntary testimony to the exhortations of his pious 
 nurse. Thrice he repeated these words, and then spoke no 
 more. 
 
 There were rumors of poison, and people remembered how 
 Catherine, in bidding farewell to Anjou, told him to be of 
 good cheer, for he would not be away long. Poisoning in 
 that day had been raised to the dignity of a science ; and ig- 
 norant as the alchemists were of the true principles of their 
 art, they had extorted certain secrets from nature which mod- 
 ern chemists can not recover. The criminal annals of recent 
 years do not permit us to doubt of the efficacy of slow poison- 
 ing ; and the symptoms under which Charles suffered strong- 
 ly remind us of those produced by minute doses of hemlock 
 alternating with arsenic. Unfortunately, in those days, de- 
 tection was difficult, because tests for poison were imknown. 
 There were so many interested in getting rid of the king, 
 that his early death was regarded as a certainty. If he had 
 lived, the influence of his amiable wife might have grown 
 stronger, he might have thrown off his mother's trammels, 
 and placing himself in the hands of the Politicians, might 
 have driven Catherine and her friends from power. Then 
 what would have become of Henry of Anjou, now reigning in 
 barbarous and distant Poland ? Ambrose Pare declared the 
 king's death was caused by injuries done to his lungs from
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 483 
 
 the immoderate use of his hunting-horn in the chase.* The 
 explanation was rejected at the time, and although we are un- 
 willing to believe that a mother would coldly speculate upon 
 the death of her son and connive at his murder, Catherine 
 never was the woman to allow scruples of conscience or mo- 
 rality to stand in her way. There is a well-known anecdote 
 of Louis XIII., who, on being cautioned against too violent 
 exercise and frequent use of the hunting-horn, replied: 
 " Stuff ! Charles IX. died after dining with Gondi, immedi- 
 ately after a quarrel with his mother." 
 
 Thus died Charles at the early age of twenty-four, rejoic- 
 ing that he had left no son to wear that crown which had 
 wrought him so much sorrow ; for, he added from his own 
 bitter experience, " France needs a man to govern her, and 
 not a babe in swaddling-clothes, with a woman for his sup- 
 port."* How differently soever his character may be esti- 
 mated by different writers, there are some points on which 
 all must agree. His virtues were his' own, his vices the re- 
 sult of his training.f He had a great capacity of affection. 
 His mistress, Marie Touchet, and the boy she bore him were 
 anxiously cared for as he lay dying. His love for his mother 
 was strong, but mingled with fear : he submitted to her, not 
 merely as the weak mind submits to the stronger, but be- 
 cause he felt that she loved him after her animal fashion, and 
 that it was his duty to honor her. "We know but little of his 
 
 * The nuncio wrote to the pope that Charles was killing himself with the 
 chase ; that he had nearly killed 5000 dogs and broken the wind of all his 
 horses, valued at 30,000 francs. Salviati Cavalli writes to the same effect : 
 "mal modo di vivere,"etc. See Drelincourt : Libitinae Trophcea. Lugd. 
 Bat. 1680. He broke out in large pustules and buboes nil over his body : 
 Villegomblain. His stomach was covered with livid spots : De Thou. 
 
 * There is an old prophecy : " Vse et iterum vac ! quando pucr sedebit in 
 sede lilii." 
 
 t His first tutors were the virtuous Carnavalet, the learned Amyot, and M. 
 de Cipierre, a man of antique type and probity. The latter was succeeded 
 by Gondi, " fin, corrompu, menteur," who taught Charles to swear and blas- 
 pheme, "et le pcrvertit du tout." Brantome. "Princcps praeclara indole et 
 magnis virtutibus, nisi. . . ." De Thou.
 
 484 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 
 
 married life, but from the few glimpses we catch of it, he 
 seems to have been attached to his young wife Elizabeth, and 
 she to him. When she heard of the murders of St. Barthol- 
 omew's Day, she asked, with horror in every feature : " Does 
 the king, my husband, know of this ?" On being told that 
 Charles had commanded it, she burst into tears, exclaiming : 
 " Oh God ! what councilors hast thou given him ! Pardon 
 this crime, I implore thee, oh God ! for if thou shouldst ex- 
 act vengeance, it is a sin never to be forgiven." Thereupon 
 she retired into her oratory, and passed the remainder of the 
 day in prayer, and refused to join the procession that trav- 
 ersed the blood-stained streets. There are coarse stories re- 
 corded of the last days of Charles, which (if they were true) 
 would throw great doubt upon his conjugal fidelity ; but they 
 are mere back-stairs scandal. 
 
 Charles IX. was a compound of the most opposite quali- 
 ties. He was a firm friend to the few whom he loved ; fond 
 of rough pleasures ; not without a taste for poetry and music, 
 and master of that graceful eloquence so captivating on the 
 lips of princes. But he had great defects, made greater by 
 the peculiarity of his character, which his friends, both true 
 and false, knew so well how to play upon. He could be as 
 violent in action as in language: his anger was fearful to 
 withstand. He could be false and treacherous, so that his ad- 
 mirers actually praise him for his duplicity.* A contempora- 
 ry Juvenal describes him as 
 
 Plus cruel que Neron, plus ruse que Tibere . . . 
 Sans parole, sans foi, sinon a se venger, 
 Execrable joueur et public adultere . . . 
 II mourut enferme' comme un chien enrage. 
 
 For three hundred years Charles has been the execration 
 of mankind, and after carefully weighing the evidence of con- 
 temporaries, the historian can find no solid grounds for re- 
 
 * Among others Claude Haton : " fut line grace de Dieu comment Ic roi 
 sut si bien dissimuler."
 
 MASSACRE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW. 485 
 
 versing the judgment. But he was not the chief criminal. 
 French writers, even while they condemn the barbarous deed 
 that has cast so foul a stain upon their annals, may justly 
 plead that the chief contriver was an Italian woman brought 
 up in the school of Machiavelli, and that the chief instruments 
 Avere all foreigners.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 AGRICULTURE. 
 
 A. 
 
 AGRICULTURE in France, 116. 
 Agrippa d'Aubigne, 85. 
 
 his defense of the war, 200. 
 Aix, Huguenots hanged at, 184. 
 AIen9on, Huguenots uninjured at, 
 
 448. 
 
 Duke of, proposed as a hus- 
 band for Elizabeth, 35G. 
 his partiality for Coligny, 435. 
 his intrigues, 478. 
 Alessandrino (nuncio), audience at 
 
 Blois, 347. 
 
 failure of 'his embassy, 347. 
 Alva, Duke of, at Bayonne, 249. 
 
 his opinion on the state of 
 
 France, 253. 
 
 Tarquinian advice, 255, 272. 
 marches through Burgundy, 
 
 266. 
 
 liis opinion of Cardinal Lor- 
 raine, 357. 
 
 Amboise, tumult of, 81. 
 act of grace of, 86. 
 pacification and edict of, 224. 
 Amiens, judicious arrangements at, 
 
 178. 
 Andelot offends Henry II., 68. 
 
 introduces reform in Brittany, 
 
 91. 
 
 urges war, 267. 
 
 death of, 301. 
 
 Angers, persecutions at, 34. 
 
 massacre at, 448. 
 Angouleme, the bastard of, 409. 
 Anjou, Prince of, threatens Condd, 
 
 266. 
 made lieutenant-general, 278. 
 
 BATTLE OF JARNAC. 
 
 Anjou commands royal army, 294. 
 wins battle of Jarnac, 296. 
 
 Moncontour, 305. 
 proposed marriage with Eliza- 
 beth, 332, 354. 
 his account of the massacre, 
 
 375, 383, 386, 387, 394, 
 
 396, 405, 406. 
 his fear of the king, 376. 
 disappointment at Maurevel's 
 
 failure, 383. 
 visit to the wounded admiral, 
 
 384. 
 
 share of the plunder, 467. 
 scene with the elector-palatine, 
 
 470. 
 
 Anthony of Navarre, 66. 
 his hesitation, 103. 
 invited to Orleans, 105. 
 plot to murder him, 108. 
 his apostasy, 185. 
 justifies the Vassy massacre, 
 
 190. 
 
 death of, 215. 
 Army, French, in sixteenth century, 
 
 120. 
 
 Arnay-le-Duc, battle of, 312. 
 Aurillac, murders at, 178. 
 
 Protestant retaliation, 310. 
 Avallon, chatelaine of, 239. 
 
 B. 
 
 BANQUET in sixteenth centary, 121. 
 Baptisms, forced, 287. 
 Bar, the proctor of, 239. 
 Barbeville burned, 76. 
 Battle of Dreux, 217. 
 
 St. Denis, 272. 
 
 Jarnac, 296.
 
 488 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 BATTLE OF ROCIIE-ABEILLE. 
 
 Battle of Roche-Abeille, 302. 
 
 Moncontour, 304 
 
 Arnay-le-Duc, 312. 
 Bayeux, Huguenot sacrilege at, 240. 
 Bayonnc, the meeting at, 248. 
 
 amusements at, 249. 
 
 diplomatic discussions at, 253. 
 Bcarnese refuse to suppress the 
 
 preaching, 445. 
 Beauvais, Easter riots at, 15G. 
 Behm, the admiral's murderer, 408, 
 
 409. 
 
 Berquin, Louis de, burned, 5. 
 Beza at Poissy, 167. 
 
 audience of queen -mother, 
 168. 
 
 address to the king, 1 70. 
 Birague, his origin, 320. 
 Blois, edict of, 73. 
 
 violence of Huguenots at, 156. 
 
 cruellies at capture of, 210. 
 
 festivities at, 347. 
 Bois Aubry, Abbot of, secretary of 
 
 clergy, his speech, 154. 
 Bordeaux, the massacre at, 451. 
 Bouchavannes, a traitor, 402. 
 Bricquemaut of Villemangis, execu- 
 ted at Amboise, 82. 
 Brigandage in France, 115. 
 Briquemaut, Colonel, his necklace, 
 288. 
 
 rash language to Charles, 341. 
 
 hanged, 442. 
 Brissac, governor of Paris, 197. 
 
 death of, 301. 
 Brugiere burned, 19. 
 
 c. 
 
 CAHORS, bloody riot at, 178. 
 Calvin and his Institutes, 6. 
 
 defense of Reformers, 10. 
 
 letter to the prisoners, 43. 
 Cambresis, treaty of, 48. 
 Carcassonne, sacrilege at, 156. 
 Carriages introduced, 121. 
 Castelnau, trial and execution, 82. 
 Castelnaudary, Palm Sunday at, 238. 
 Catherine de Medicis, early'life, 23. 
 
 skill in business, 24. 
 
 grief at Henry's death, 59. 
 
 CATHERINE DE MEDICIS. 
 
 Catherine dc Medicis, letter to her 
 daughter, 146. 
 
 policy, 147. 
 
 instructions to Cardinal Ferra- 
 ra, 166. 
 
 letters to Rome and the empe- 
 ror, 172. 
 
 unpopularity with Romanists, 
 177. 
 
 bold reply to Chantonnay, 186. 
 
 summons Comic' to her assist- 
 ance, 192. 
 
 defies Anthony of Navarre, 
 193. 
 
 message to Conde, 198. 
 
 attempts at negotiation, 204. 
 
 goes abroad masked, 208. 
 
 is present at siege of Rouen, 
 213. 
 
 exultation at victory of Dreux, 
 219. 
 
 advice to Charles, 245. 
 
 diplomacy at Bayonne, 248. 
 
 letter on the papal jurisdiction, 
 257. 
 
 suspected of heresy, 286. 
 
 desires treaty to be observed, 
 336. 
 
 reception of Coligny, 355. 
 
 described by Joan of Jsavarre, 
 349. 
 
 opposes war in Flanders, 362. 
 
 interview with Charles at Mont- 
 pipeau, 363. 
 
 plots Coligny's death, 377. 
 
 at his bedside, 385. 
 
 plots a general massacre, 383. 
 
 consultation at the Tuileries, 
 390. 
 
 reveals a pretended Huguenot 
 plot, 394. 
 
 extorts king's consent to mas- 
 sacre, 397. 
 
 checks the king's irresolution, 
 405. 
 
 letter to Stro/zi, 446. 
 
 message to Alva, 460. 
 
 discovers her mistake, 472. 
 
 reply to the Montauban de- 
 mands, 477. 
 
 exultation at Montgomery's 
 capture, 481.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Caumont, Due de la Force, his singu- 
 lar escape, 432. 
 Cavaignes hanged, 442. 
 Cevennes, march through the, 312. 
 Chabot protects the Huguenots, 45G. 
 Chambord, ordinance of, 78. 
 Chambres ardentes, 33. 
 Chantonnay complains of toleration, 
 
 161. 
 
 Chapot, Jean, on the rack, 16. 
 Charles IX., his accession, 145. 
 
 opens the States-General, 150. 
 amnesties heretical prisoners, 
 
 157. 
 issues letters patent of April, 
 
 157. 
 
 acts in a court masque, 161. 
 presides over colloquy of Pois- 
 
 sy, 169. 
 calls an Assembly of Notables, 
 
 175. 
 Triumvirate plot to seize him, 
 
 192. 
 brought from Fontaineblcau to 
 
 Paris, 193. 
 declared of age, 244. 
 reply to Alva, 256, 265, 323. 
 reproaches Coligny, 264. 
 plot to seize king, 269. 
 savage letter to Gordes, 271. 
 letters to Conde and Humieres, 
 
 284, 317. 
 at siege of St. Joan d'Angely, 
 
 307. 
 
 advice to justices of Gap, 317. 
 marriage, 322, 324. 
 mad sports, 323. 
 La Chasse Royale, 323. 
 supports William of Orange, 
 
 331. 
 
 invites Coligny to court, 333. 
 distrust of Anjou, 334. 
 attachment to Teligny, 334. 
 reception of Coligny, 336. 
 letter to Duke of Savoy, 337. 
 reception of Queen Joan, 345. 
 answer to Alessandrino, 347. 
 letter to Pius V. on Margaret's 
 
 marriage, 351. 
 promises help to Prince Louis, 
 
 358. 
 goes to Montpipeau, 362. 
 
 Charles IX. offers Coligny a guard, 
 376, 403. 
 
 jealous of Anjou, 377. 
 
 wrath on hearing of attack on 
 Coligny, 318. 
 
 threatens to punish the assas- 
 sins, 382. 
 
 visits Coligny, 384. 
 
 tells his mother what Coligny 
 said to him, 387. 
 
 letters to pacifv the Huguenots, 
 393. 
 
 consents reluctantly to the mas- 
 sacre, 394. 
 
 tries to save Rochefoucault, 
 400. 
 
 irresolution, 405. 
 
 looks from a window at the 
 murders, 414. 
 
 fires at the fugitive Huguenots, 
 426. 
 
 remorse and visions, 436. 
 
 justifies thcmassacre before the 
 parliament, 438. 
 
 present at execution of Briquc- 
 maut, 442. 
 
 orders to provincial governors, 
 447. 
 
 medals to commemorate mas- 
 sacre, 464. 
 
 conspiracy to dethrone him, 
 478. 
 
 last illness and death, 480. 
 Charpentier's apology for the massa- 
 cre, 464. 
 
 Chateaubriant, edict of, 33. 
 Chatillon, Cardinal of, assaulted, 156. 
 
 deliberations at, 267. 
 Church property, its confiscation pro- 
 posed, 165. 
 Clergy, corruption of, 3. 
 
 their power and wealth, 127. 
 
 abusive sermons, preached bv 
 
 90, 286, 327. 
 Coconnas executed, 479. 
 Cognac besieged, 301. 
 Coligny, Gaspard de, 67. 
 
 advice at Amboise, 86. 
 Fontainel)lcau, 99. 
 Orleans, 112. 
 
 his wife's advice, 196. 
 
 saves the army at Drcux, 218.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Coligny charged with plotting the 
 murder of Guise, 222. 
 
 letter on his son's death, 228. 
 
 reconciliation with Guises at 
 Moulins, 2GO. 
 
 reproached by king, 204. 
 
 dissuades from war, 2G8. 
 
 skill and discipline, 272. 
 
 death of his wife, 280. 
 
 visit to Tanlay, 291. 
 
 flight to Rochelle,291. 
 
 defeated at Jarnac, 296. 
 
 victory at Roche-Abeille, 302. 
 
 wounded at Moncontour, 305. 
 
 letter to his children, 306. 
 
 marches to the south, 308. 
 
 victory at Arnay-le-Duc, 312. 
 
 remonstrance with Charles, 
 333. 
 
 marries Jacqueline of Mont- 
 be], 334. 
 
 arrival at court, 336. 
 
 influence with Charles, 340. 
 
 urges war with Flanders, 344. 
 
 memoir on proposed war, 358. 
 
 letter to William of Orange 
 promising aid, 362. 
 
 warnings and cautions neglect- 
 ed, 367. 
 
 remarks at Henry's wedding, 
 373. 
 
 last letter to his wife, 375. 
 
 wounded by an assassin, 379. 
 
 last interview with Charles, 
 384. 
 
 murdered by Behm, 408. 
 
 outrages to his corpse, 411. 
 Combelle robbed of his dispatches, 
 
 454. 
 
 Conde, Henry, Prince of, life saved by 
 Elizabeth's intercession, 434. 
 
 abjuration, 444. 
 Conde', Louis, Prince of, 67. 
 
 invited to Orleans, 105. 
 
 reception at court, 105. 
 
 trial, 107. 
 
 attempts to rescue king, 193. 
 
 speech at Mcanx, 196. 
 
 appointed leader of Huguenot 
 force, 197. 
 
 manifesto to . the Protestant 
 churches, 198. 
 
 Conde', Louis, Prince of, made pris- 
 oner at Dreux, 218. 
 claims to be appointed lieuten- 
 ant-general, 266. 
 battle of St. Denis, 272. 
 marches to meet the reiters, 
 
 275. 
 
 flight toRochelle, 291. 
 killed at Jarnac, 296. 
 Confession of faith of French Reform- 
 ers, 54. 
 Cornaton asks king for a guard for 
 
 Coligny, 391. 
 
 escapes from the massacre, 407. 
 Correro, France in 1571, 323. 
 Cosseins appointed to guard Coligny's 
 
 house, 393. 
 
 assists in the murder, 407. 
 Council proposed, 92. 
 Court-masques, 161, 250. 
 Crespy, treaty of, 11. 
 Crozier and his blood-stained com- 
 rade, 425. 
 Cypierre murdered, 288. 
 
 D. 
 
 DAMVILLE at Nismes, 276. 
 
 D'Aubigne at Amboise, 85. 
 
 De Crussol's account of Huguenots, 
 
 159. 
 
 Delavoye, martyrdom of, 8. 
 De Nanay, captain of the guard, 401. 
 
 protects Margaret, 416. 
 De Pilles, his foolish threats, 388. 
 
 murdered in the Louvre, 415. 
 De Retz, his origin, 319. 
 rapid rise, 320. 
 
 voice against proposed massa- 
 cre, 397. 
 Des Adrets, his ferocious retaliation, 
 
 231. 
 description of, by De Thou, 
 
 232. 
 
 Desmarais, his stout defense, 307. 
 De Thou eulogizes the king's severi- 
 ty, 440. 
 
 private opinion of the massa- 
 cre, 441. 
 
 Diana of Poitiers, character of, 2f>. 
 Dieppe, its wealth and commerce, 141.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 491 
 
 Dieppe, ferocity of Huguenots at, 240. 
 
 Huguenots punished, 310. 
 
 the governor's speech at, 458. 
 Discontent in France, 77. 
 Dloet burned, 17. 
 
 Dorat's congratulations on the mas- 
 sacre, 453. 
 
 Dramatic amusements, 129. 
 Dress of people, 119. 
 Dreux, battle of, 218. 
 Du Bourg, his speech in Parliament, 
 51. 
 
 trial and execution, 74. 
 
 Duplessis-Mornay's memoir on the 
 
 Flemish war, 358. 
 
 escapes from the massacre, 430. 
 
 escape of his wife, 431. 
 
 E. 
 
 ECOTTEN, edict of, 56. 
 Edict of Fontainebleau, 8. 
 
 Chateaubriant, 33. 
 
 Econen, 56. 
 
 Villars-Cotteret, 73. 
 
 Blois, 73. 
 
 Chambord, 78. 
 
 Amboise, 86. 
 
 Romorantin, 88. 
 
 April, 157. 
 
 July, 158. 
 
 January, 183. 
 
 St. Germains, 314. 
 Elector-palatine extols Coligny, 470. 
 Electoral excitement, 149. 
 Elizabeth, Queen of France, her mar- 
 riage, 322, 324. 
 
 enters Paris, 325. 
 
 intercedes to save Comic', 434. 
 
 affection for Charles IX., 482. 
 
 horror at the massacre, 484. 
 Elizabeth of England, proposed mar- 
 riage with Anjou, 332, 354. 
 
 Alen9on, 356. 
 
 Elizabeth of England, cold, reception 
 of the French embassador, 
 468. 
 England, treaty with, 355. 
 
 horror at the massacre, 468. 
 Etienne, Robert, in exile, 18. 
 Executioner, his wages, 133. 
 
 F. 
 
 FONTAINEBLEAU, edict of, 8. 
 
 meeting of Notables at, 197. 
 
 resolutions of, 102. 
 Flemish war, 357, 358, 359, 3G2. 
 Food of people, 11-9. 
 France, condition of, in 1560, 112. 
 
 distressed condition of, 217, 
 
 225. 
 Francis I., patronage of learning, 3. ' 
 
 persecutes Reformers, 7. 
 
 orders persecution of Vaudois, 
 10. 
 
 death of, 20. 
 Francis II., accession, 61. 
 
 alarm at court, 73. 
 
 letters ordering persecution, 
 94. 
 
 illness and death, 108. 
 
 G. 
 
 GAP, dissensions at, 278. 
 
 edict neutralized at, 327. 
 Gastine cross, 343. 
 Genlis defeated and made prisoner, 
 
 359. 
 
 German princes, embassy from, 326. 
 Gibbets of Fontainebleau, 77. 
 Gondi : see De Retz. 
 Gondrin killed at Lyons, 234. 
 Gonzaga ; see Nevers, Duke of. 
 Gordes hesitates to carry out the or- 
 der, 456. 
 
 Gregory XIII. approves of the mas- 
 sacre, 466. 
 Guise, Francis, Duke of, 63. 
 lieutenant-general, 86. 
 combines with Montmorency, 
 
 163. 
 
 retires from privy council, 184. 
 goes to Savcrne, 186. 
 orders the massacre at Vassy, 
 
 188. 
 ostentatiously enters Paris, 
 
 191. 
 
 plots to seize the king, 192. 
 gains victory at Dreux, 217.
 
 492 
 
 Guise besieges Orleans, 220. 
 
 murdered by Poltrot, 221. 
 Guise, Henry of, refuses to be recon- 
 ciled to Coligny, 2C1. 
 
 character, 321. 
 
 threatening proceedings of, 
 338. 
 
 visits Alva, 35G. 
 
 offers to fight Coligny, 357. 
 Guise, Henry of, proposal to murder 
 Coligny, 377. 
 
 asks leave to quit Paris, 394. 
 
 visits the city in secret, 398. 
 
 receives the final orders, 405. 
 
 recalled too late, 406. 
 
 insults the corpse of Coligny, 
 409. 
 
 blood drops from his hand, 475. 
 
 H. 
 
 HAMPTON COURT treaty 209. 
 Havre surrendered to English, 209. 
 
 siege and capture of, 243. 
 Henry II., accession of, 22. 
 
 crowned at Rheims, 28. 
 
 present at burning of heretics, 
 30. 
 
 favorite Psalm, 45. 
 
 orders arrest of Du Bourg, 52. 
 
 wounded, 58. 
 
 death, 58. 
 Henry of Navarre at Bayonne, 255. 
 
 speech to the army, 300. 
 
 description of, 300. 
 
 retreat from Mon contour, 305. 
 
 first command, 312. 
 
 proposed marriage with Mar- 
 garet, 338. 
 
 letter to Queen Elizabeth on his 
 mother's death, 366. 
 
 comes to Paris, 369. 
 
 marriage with Margaret, 372. 
 
 indignation at attack on Co- 
 ligny, 328. 
 
 proposals to murder him, 391. 
 
 put under arrest, 424. 
 
 abjures, 444. 
 
 at the siege of Rochelle, 473. 
 
 Charles entrusts his wife and 
 child to him, 480. 
 
 LA HENAUDIE. 
 
 Heresy at court, 1 60. 
 Huguenot army, its discipline, 203. 
 Huguenots, their number estimated, 
 174. 
 
 regain courage, 472. 
 
 rush to arms, 473. 
 
 demands at Montauban, 477. 
 
 I. 
 
 IGNORANCE of the people, 122. 
 Infants rechristened, 207. 
 Inns in France, 115. 
 Inquisition, introduction of, resisted, 
 37. 
 
 J. 
 
 JANUARY, edict of, 183. 
 
 resisted by Tavannes, 184. 
 
 Huguenot rejoicings over, 184. 
 Jarnac, battle of, 296. 
 Joan of Navarre, her reforms in 
 Beam, 257. 
 
 takes refuge in Rochelle, 292. 
 
 fears for Coligny, 336. 
 
 on her son's marriage, 340. 
 
 death at Paris, 356. 
 July edict, 158. 
 
 K. 
 
 KNOX, JOHN, his denunciation of the 
 murderers, 469. 
 
 L. 
 
 LA MOLE executed, 479. 
 
 Lange, orator of Third Estate, 152. 
 
 address to king, 152. 
 La None describes origin of war, 196. 
 
 on army discipline, 203. 
 
 the conference at Thoury, 204. 
 
 on the reiters, 275. 
 
 governor of Rochelle, 474. 
 La Place, Pierre de, murdered. 425. 
 La Renaudie, 79. 
 
 killed at Amboisc, 81.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 493 
 
 LA ROCHEFOUCACLT. 
 
 La Rochefoucault, king tries to save 
 him, 400. 
 
 murdered, 421. 
 
 Lavergne de Tressan at Jarnac, 312. 
 League of the Loire, 115. 
 
 Champagne, 289. 
 
 Toulouse, 290. 
 Lefevre, the first Reformer, 2. 
 Le Laboureur, his panegyric of Co- 
 
 ligny, 410. 
 
 Le Mans, the bishop of, 240. 
 Le Puy, procession at, 35. 
 
 infant rebaptized, 207. 
 Le'ran saved by Margaret, 415. 
 Lignerolles murdered, 342. 
 Limoux, cruelties at, 238. 
 Lisieux, Bishop of, protects the Hu- 
 guenots, 455. 
 L'Hopital appointed chancellor, 87. 
 
 inaugural address, 97. 
 
 origin, 98. 
 
 speech to States of 'Orleans, 
 
 ' 151. 
 
 address to parliament, 158. 
 
 speech at Pontoise, 164. 
 
 letter to Genevan Calvinists, 
 1G7. 
 
 speech at Poissy, 169. 
 
 to the Notables at St. Ger- 
 mains, 182. 
 
 plot to murder him, 227. 
 
 proposes concessions to Hu- 
 guenots, 269. 
 
 remonstrance to the king, 279. 
 
 joins the Politicians, 285. 
 
 resigns the chancellorship, 289. 
 
 escapes the massacre, 431. 
 Longjumeau, treaty of, 280. 
 Lorraine family, 63. 
 Lorraine, Cardinal of, 64. 
 
 discussion with Bcza, 168. 
 
 retires from Privy Council, 
 184. 
 
 goes to Saverne, 186. 
 
 forbidden to enter Paris, 261. 
 
 runs away from Menux, 271. 
 
 disgusted with St. Gcrmains 
 treaty, 317. 
 
 goes to Rome, 351. 
 
 rewards messenger of the mas- 
 sacre, 465. 
 Louvre, the murders at, 404, 414. 
 
 MICHELLE DE CAIGXOXCLE. 
 
 Lyons in 1560, 140. 
 
 Huguenot' turbulence at, 180. 
 mastered by Huguenots, 235. 
 massacre at, 449. 
 
 M. 
 
 MACON, leaps of, 238. 
 Maine, sad condition of, 263. 
 Mandelot begs a share of the plunder, 
 
 450. 
 
 Margaret of Valois, 6. 
 Margaret, Princess, proposed mar- 
 riage with Henry of Navarre, 
 339. 
 
 description of, 349. 
 alarmed by her sister, 402. 
 scene in her chamber, 415. 
 saves Leran's life, 416. 
 weeps over head of La Mole, 
 
 479. 
 Marie de Barbanson, her intrepidity, 
 
 310. 
 
 Marie Mouchet, 323, 483. 
 Marillac, Archbishop, his speech at 
 
 Fontainebleau, 100. 
 Marlorat hanged, 215. 
 Marot imprisoned, 19. 
 his Psalms, 46. 
 
 Martyrdoms, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 16, 17, 19. 
 Massacre in Paris, the, 417, 444. 
 Massacre in Paris, number of vic- 
 tims in, 459,- 461. 
 Maugiron, cruelties at Valence, 95. 
 Maurevel hired to kill the admiral, 
 
 378, 380. 
 Maximilian II., his thoughts on the 
 
 massacre, 469. 
 Meaux, tho martyrs of, 15. 
 royal flight from, 269. 
 the massacre at, 452. 
 Medals, commemorative, 464, 466. 
 Mercurial of Henry II., 51. 
 Mergey, adieu of Rambouillet, 401. 
 Me'rindol destroyed, 12. 
 Merlin, the admiral's chaplain, con- 
 soles Coligny, 380. 
 singular escape, 408. 
 Michcli's account of the Huguenots, 
 
 174. 
 Michelle de Caignonclc's alms, 18.
 
 494 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Minard, President, shot, 74. 
 Miracle of the flowering thorn, 434. 
 Moderate party, 285, 315, 328, 330. 
 Monceaux, meeting of conspirators 
 
 at, 377. 
 
 Moncontour, battle of, 305. 
 Mons, capture of, 358. 
 , Montauban, Huguenot assembly at, 
 
 477. 
 
 Montbrun takes up arms, 95. 
 Montfau9on, the gibbet at, 411. 
 Montgomery kills Henry II., 58. 
 governor of Rouen, 213. 
 escapes from Paris, 428. 
 made prisoner, 481. 
 Montluc, Bishop, his speech at Fon- 
 
 tainebleau, 99. 
 Montluc, Blaise de, his barbarities, 
 
 230. 
 
 wise severity, 2G4. 
 Montmorency, Constable, 27. 
 his cruelty, 28. 
 dismissed, 71. 
 combines with Guise and St. 
 
 Andre', 163. 
 
 burns the meeting-houses, 208. 
 made prisoner at Dreux, 220. 
 killed at St. Denis, 273. 
 Montmorency, Marshal, threatens 
 
 Cardinal Lorraine, 261. 
 advises war with Spain, 331. 
 tries to negotiate with Hugue- 
 nots, 339. 
 
 Montsoreau, his treachery and cruel- 
 ty, 448. 
 
 Moreau burned at Troyes, 16. 
 Moulins, assembly at, 258. . 
 
 Coligny and Guise reconciled 
 
 at, 260. 
 
 Mouvans, death of, 96. 
 Muretus panegyrizes the murderers. 
 
 466. 
 Music, decline of, in church, 46. 
 
 N. 
 
 NANTES, meeting at, 79. 
 
 refusal of magistrates to kill, 
 Huguenots, 448. 
 
 Nassau, Count Louis of, at Moncon- 
 tour, 305. 
 
 PARDAILLAN. 
 
 Nassau, Count Louis of, interview 
 with Charles at Lumignv, 
 331. 
 
 Xavarre, King of; see Anthony. 
 Navy, French, in sixteenth century, 
 
 126. 
 Nemours, Duke of, 270. 
 
 Duchess of, proposal that she 
 shall assassinate Coligny, 
 377. 
 
 Nerac, meeting at, 103. 
 Nevers, Duke of, his timidity, 321. 
 Nismes. results of persecution at, 94. 
 Michelade of, 276. 
 captured by Huguenots, 310. 
 order preserved, 458. 
 Noises in the air, 436. 
 Normandy, distress in, 31. 
 Notables, Assembly of, at St. Ger- 
 
 mains, 175. 
 
 Number of the victims in Paris, 459. 
 the provinces, 461. 
 
 0. 
 
 OPPEDE, Baron of, his cruelty, 12. 
 Orange, butchery at, 234. 
 Organization of Reformed Church, 
 
 65. 
 Orleans, the court at, 104. 
 
 seized by Huguenots, 197. 
 
 besieged by Duke of Guise, 
 220. 
 
 Huguenots burned at, 309. 
 
 massacre at, 450. 
 Orsini's mission, 471. 
 Orthez, his reply to Charles, 455. 
 
 P. 
 
 PALISSY, BERNARD, patronized by 
 
 Catherine, 322. 
 Pare', Ambrose, tends Coligny's 
 
 wounds,. 380. 
 
 a witness of the murder, 408. 
 escorted to the Louvre, 410. 
 singular confession of king to, 
 
 435. 
 
 on the death of Charles, 482. 
 Pardaillan, his foolish threats, 389.
 
 IXDEX. 
 
 495 
 
 PARDAILLAN. 
 
 Pardaillian, murdered in the Louvre, 
 
 415. 
 
 Paris, lawlessness of, 76. 
 in 15GO, 137. 
 
 arming of the citizens, 198. 
 outrages in, 207. 
 disturbed state of, in winter of 
 
 1571,344. 
 
 panic at news of Genlis's de- 
 feat, 359. 
 
 Parliament of Paris, divisions in, 49. 
 Pavannes, martyrdom of, 5. 
 Peasantry, condition of, 117. 
 Pedlar burned at Velay, 36. 
 Petrucci cuts off the admiral's head, 
 
 409. 
 Philip II. intrigues against France, 
 
 160, 176. 
 treasonable correspondence 
 
 with Triumvirate, 209. 
 offers aid to France, 316. 
 threatens war, 329. 
 joy at the massacre, 467. 
 Philippa de Lunz burned, 42. 
 Philippe Kicharde, the king's Hugue- 
 not nurse, 481. 
 
 Pieds Kus, les, their atrocities, 226. 
 Pius V., congratulatory letters, 289, 
 
 298, 306. 
 advises continuance of war, 
 
 314. 
 Placards, affair of, 7. 
 
 inflammatory, 42. 
 Pluviers, Huguenot retaliation at, 
 
 216. 
 Poissy, colloquy at, 16C. 
 
 opened, 169. 
 Poitiers, severities at, 74. 
 Politiques, les, 286, 315, 328, 330. 
 Poltrot murders Francis of Guise, 221 . 
 extolled as a martyr by Hu- 
 guenots, 223. 
 
 Pontoise, the States of, 163. 
 Population in 1560, 122. 
 Pre aux Clercs, psalm-singing, 46. 
 Progress of reform, 31. 
 Provinces of France, 113. 
 Provins, brutal scene at, 135. 
 grievances, 149. 
 rejoicings at news of Jarnac, 
 
 299. 
 flight of the Huguenots, 457. 
 
 Provost of Paris, king's instructions 
 
 to, 399. 
 Punishments, 133. 
 
 QUENTIN, JEAN, orator of the clergv, 
 
 152. 
 speech at Orleans, 154. 
 
 R. 
 
 RALEIGH, WALTEK, joins the Hugue- 
 nots, 294. 
 
 opinion of Conde, 299. 
 Ramus, Peter, murdered, 423. 
 Reformed Church, its organization, 
 55. 
 
 doctrines, their rapid exten- 
 sion, 174. 
 
 Regnier de la Planche, 87. 
 Reiters, their cupidity, 275, 281. 
 Relics, abuse of, 4. 
 Religious wars, First, 195. 
 
 Second, 269. 
 
 Third, 291. 
 
 Renaudie, Bary de la, 79, 81. 
 Rennes, disturbances at, 156. 
 Rents in Auverpne, 117. 
 Revival of learning, 3. 
 Roads in France, 1 14. 
 Roche-Abeille, battle of, 302. 
 Rochelle, violence at, 236. 
 
 besieged by Anjou, 474. 
 
 siege raised, 474. 
 Rome, exultation at, 4GG. 
 Romorantin, edict of, 88. 
 Ronsard, the poet, 226. 
 Rouen, ballet at, 141. 
 
 besieged, 213. 
 
 reprisals at, 214. 
 
 the massacre at, 452. 
 Rue St. Jacques, affair of, 40. 
 
 S. 
 
 SADOLET, his charity, 15. 
 St. Andre, 66. 
 
 joins the Triumvirate, 163.
 
 496 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ST. ANDRfe. 
 
 Saint Andre killed at Dreux, 219. 
 St. Calais, monks of, 238. 
 
 Croix ; see Santa Crocc. 
 
 Cyr, Count of, his desperate 
 charge, 305. 
 
 Denis, battle of, 272. 
 
 Germains, Notables at, 182. 
 peace of, 314. 
 
 Ile'rem refuses to obey order, 
 454. 
 
 Me'dard, riot of, 181. 
 
 Quentin, defeat at, 40. 
 Salviati's report of the massacre, 418. 
 Sancerre, the siege of, 47C. 
 
 capitulates, 477. 
 Santa Crocc praises Reformers, 159. 
 
 describes the state of Paris, 182. 
 
 praises the admiral, 410. 
 Saverne, conference at, 186. 
 Senlis, Huguenots exiled, 456. 
 Sens, massacre at, 199. 
 Sermons and congregations, 173. 
 Shrove-Tuesday plot, 478. 
 Sigognes, governor of Dieppe, 288. 
 Sillv, Jacques de, orator of the no- 
 bles, 152. 
 
 speech at Orleans, 152. 
 Sisteron, massacre at, 200. 
 
 deserted by Huguenots, 237. 
 Soubise, his resistance, 422. 
 
 indignities to corpse, 415. 
 States-General of Orleans, 148. 
 
 opened by king, 150. 
 Street architecture, 135. 
 Strozzi, Cardinal, his atrocities, 232. 
 Strozzi, Colonel-general, captured at 
 Roche- Abeille, 303. 
 
 drowns ,the camp-followers, 
 315. 
 
 unpopular in army, 320. 
 Stuart, Robert, murders the consta- 
 ble, 273. 
 
 Sully escapes the massacre, 428. 
 Sumptuary laws, 120. 
 Superstitions, 131. 
 
 Synod, first Reformed, meets in Par- 
 is, 54. 
 
 of Poissy, impracticable tem- 
 per of Huguenot ministers, 
 173. 
 
 ofRochelle, 321. 
 
 T. 
 
 TAILOR, martyrdom of a, 31. 
 Talcy, interview at, 205. 
 Tavannes suggests ecclesiastical re- 
 forms, 93. 
 
 plunders Macon, 237. 
 appointed military superin- 
 tendent during massacre, 
 398. 
 
 complains of apathy of citi- 
 zens, 400. 
 
 sanguinary cry, 447. 
 Taverny, stout resistance of, 422. 
 Taxation in 15GO, 123. 
 Teligny, his mission to the king, 334. 
 marries the admiral's daugh- 
 ter, 334. 
 sent in pursuit of Maurcvcl, 
 
 381. 
 
 last night with Coligny, 403. 
 murdered, 412. 
 Tende, Count of, 447. 
 Thomas of St. Paul burned, 17. 
 Thoury, negotiations at, 204. 
 "TigeV," the, a satire, 90. 
 
 note on the, 111. 
 Tocsin rung, 413. 
 Tossinghi steals the admiral's gold 
 
 chain, 409. 
 Toulon in 1560, 143. 
 Toulouse, massacres at, 237, 453. 
 Tournament in Paris, 57. 
 Tours, massacre at, 211. 
 Traveling in France, 1 14. 
 Trent, instructions to Council of, 92. 
 
 Council of, 245. 
 Triumvirate, the, formed, 1G3. 
 
 treasonable correspondence 
 
 with Philip II., 209. 
 Troycs, the massacre at, 452. 
 
 V. 
 
 VALENCE, reform in, 96. 
 Vaudois, massacre of, 1 2. 
 Vassy, massacre at, 187. 
 
 Catholic exultation over, 190. 
 Velay, contests in, 36.
 
 IXDEX. 
 
 497 
 
 VENDOME. 
 
 Vendome, meeting at, 72. 
 Victims, number of, 459, 461. 
 Vigor, Simon, ferocious sermon of, 
 
 177.' 
 Villars, Count of, describes state of 
 
 Nismes, 94. 
 Villemangis beheaded, 84. 
 
 w. 
 
 WAGES in 1560, 117. 
 I I 
 
 WILD ANIMALS. 
 
 Walsingham on Anjou's ambition, 
 
 316. 
 
 opinion of king, 336. 
 letter on defeat of Genlis, 
 
 359. 
 
 on war in Flanders, 360. 
 report of meeting at Montpi- 
 
 peau, 364. 
 describes the execution of 
 
 Briquemaut, 443. 
 Wild animals in France, 115.
 
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