Volume I Part 39 (2/2)

The adherents of the reformed faith had become numerous, and many were restive under their protracted sufferings. ”I am certainly enformid,”

wrote the English amba.s.sador, Throkmorton, to Secretary Cecil (May 15, 1559), ”that about the number of fifty thousand persones in Gascoigne, Guyen, Angieu, Poictiers, Normandy, and Main, have subscribed to a confession in religion conformable to that of Geneva; which they mind shortly to exhibit to the King. There be of them diverse personages of good haviour (_sic_): and it is said amongst the same, that after they have delivered their confession to the King, that the spiritualty of Fraunce will do all they can to procure the King, to the utter subversion of them: for which cause, they say, _the spiritualty seemeth to be so glad of peaxe_, for that they may have that so good an occasion to worke their feate. But,” he adds, ”on th' other side these men minde, in case any repressing and subversion of their religion be ment and put in execution against them, to resist to the deathe.” Forbes, State Papers, i. 92.]

[Footnote 690: ”Heri scriptum est ad me Lutetia.... Sorbonicos ad Regem cucurrisse et tempus ejus eonveniendi aucupatos petiisse curam inquirendorum Lutheranorum. Quum Rex respondisset: 'Se eam curam Senatui manda.s.se, iique respondissent, '_totam curiam Parlamenti Parisienis inquinatam esse_,' iracunde intulisse, 'quid vultis igitur faciam, aut quid consilii capiam? An ut vos in eorum loc.u.m subst.i.tuam, et Rempublicam meam administretis?'” Letter of Hotman to Bullinger, Aug.

15, 1556, _apud_ Baum, Theod. Beza, i. 294.]

[Footnote 691: ”The king, however, looks on all the judges with a suspicious eye.” Calvin to Garnier, Aug. 29, 1558. Bonnet, Eng. tr., iii. 460.]

[Footnote 692: Seguier, the leading jurist in the Parisian Parliament, like most of the judges that possessed much legal ac.u.men, and all those that were inclined to tolerant sentiments, was reputed unsound in the faith. Sir Nicholas Throkmorton, the English amba.s.sador, says of him: ”One of the Presidentes of the court of Parliament, named Siggier, a verey wise man, and one whome the constable for his judgement dothe muche stay upon, is noted to be a Protestant, and of the chiefest setters forward and favorers of the rest of that courte against the cardinalles.” The same accurate observer states that, of the ”six score”

counsellors present in the Parliamentary session which Henry attended, only ”one of the Presidentes called Magistri and fourteen others were of the King and the cardinalles side, and did agree with them and condescend to the punishment of suche as shuld seme to resist to the cardinalles orders devised for reformation toching religion: the said Siggier, Rancongnet, and another President, with the rest of the counsaillors, were all against the cardinalles. Whereupon it is judged,”

he adds, ”that the House of Guise hathe taken this occasion to weaken the constable: and because they wold not directly begynne with Siggier, for feare of manifesting their practise, they have founde the meanes to cause these counsaillors to be taken; supposing, that in th' examination of them somme mater may be gathered to toche Siggier withall, and therby to overthrow him.” Despatch of June 13, 1559, Forbes, State Papers, i.

127.]

[Footnote 693: Hist. eccles. des egl. ref., i. 106.]

[Footnote 694: When President Seguier was defending himself and his colleagues from the charge made by the Cardinal of Lorraine that they did not punish the heretics, and alleged as proof the fact that only three accused of ”Lutheranism” remained in their prison, the cardinal rejoined: ”Voire, vous les avez expediez en les renvoyant devant leurs evesques! Vrayement voyla une belle expedition, a ceux mesmes qui out faict profession de leur foy devant vous, tout au contraire de la saincte eglise de Rome!” Pierre de la Place, Commentaires de l'estat de la rel. et rep., p. 11.]

[Footnote 695: ”Non, non, dict-il, monsieur le president; mais vous estes cause que non seulement Poictiers, mais tout Poictou jusques au pays de Bordeaux, Tholouse, Provence, et generalement France est toute remplie de ceste vermine, qui s'augmente et pullule soubs esperance de vous.” Ib., _ubi supra_.]

[Footnote 696: Ib., _ubi supra_, Hist. eccles., i. 107, 108.]

[Footnote 697: La Place, Comm. de l'estat de la rel. et rep., p 12.]

[Footnote 698: Idem. Serra.n.u.s, de statu, etc., i., fol. 14.]

[Footnote 699: ”There is another consideration of the proceadings of these maters, whiche (savyng your Majestie's correction) in myne opinion, is as great as the rest: ... that forasmuch as the mult.i.tude of Protestantes, being spred abrode in sundry partes of this realme in diverse congregations, ment now amiddes of all these triumphes to use the meane of somme n.o.bleman to exhibit to the King their confession (wherof your Majeste shall receive a copie herwithal) to th' intent the same mighte have bene openly notified to the world; the King being lothe, that at the arrivall here of the Duke of Savoy, the Duke of Alva, and others, these maters shuld have appeared so farre forward, hathe thought good before hande, for the daunting of suche as might have semed to be doers therin, to prevent their purpose by handeling of these counsaillors in this sorte.” Throkmorton to Queen Elizabeth, June 13, 1559, Forbes, State Papers, i. 128.]

[Footnote 700: Vieilleville, ii. 401-404; De Thou, ii. 667; Forbes, State Papers, i. 127.]

[Footnote 701: Mem. de Vieilleville, ii. 405. The date of Henry's visit to parliament is not free from the same contradictory statements that affect many of the most important events of history. De Thou, and, following him, Felibien, Browning, and others, place it five days later than I have done in the text. La Place, the anonymous ”Discours de la mort du Roy Henry II.” (in the Recueil des choses memorables, published in 1565, and later in the Memoires de Conde), Castelnau, the Histoire eccles., etc., are our best authorities. As Sir Nicholas Throkmorton gave an account of the _Mercuriale_ in his despatch to the queen of June 13th (Forbes, State Papers, i. 126-130), I am surprised that Dr. White, who refers, to this interesting paper (although by an oversight ascribing it to June 19th) should, while correcting M. de Felice's error, have preferred the date of June 15th. ”Ma.s.sacre of St.

Bartholomew,” Am. ed., p. 51.]

[Footnote 702: Discours de la mort du Roy Henry II. (Recueil des choses memorables, 1565.) Dulaure, Hist. de Paris, ii. 434-437. Cf. also the maps accompanying that work.]

[Footnote 703: The Discours de la mort du Roy Henry II. add that Henry demanded the reason of the Parliament's delay to register an edict they had received from him against the ”Lutherans”--doubtless the last--establis.h.i.+ng the inquisitorial commission of three cardinals.

”Cest edict estoit sorti de l'oracle dudict cardinal de Lorreine.” Baum, Theodore Beza, ii. 31, note, etc., has already called attention to the gross inaccuracies of Browning, in his description of the incidents of the _Mercuriale_, as well as of the king's visit to parliament. (Hist.

of the Huguenots, i. 54, etc.). Among other a.s.sertions altogether unwarranted by the evidence, he states that Henry, in order to entrap the unwary, ”declared himself free from every kind of angry feeling against those counsellors who had adopted the new religion, and begged them all to speak their opinions freely,” etc. (p. 55). If true, this would rob Du Bourg's course of half its heroism.]

[Footnote 704: ”Whereas,” wrote Throkmorton to Queen Elizabeth, ”the Kinge's presence is very rare, and hathe seldome happened but upon somme great occasion; so I endevored myself (as much as I could) to learne the cause of their a.s.semble.” Forbes, State Papers, i. 126.]

[Footnote 705: Strangely enough, Mr. Smedley, History of the Reformed Religion in France, i. 87, note, following a careless annotator of De Thou, discovers an inaccuracy in the allusion where no inaccuracy exists. It was not to Ahab's _question_, but to Elijah's _retort_, that Du Faur made reference. See La Place, p. 13.]

[Footnote 706: La Place, Comm. de l'estat, etc., p. 13; Hist. eccles., i. 122; (Crespin, Gal. chret., ii. 303); De Thou, ii. 670. Felibien, Hist. de Paris, ii. 1066.]

[Footnote 707: La Place, _ubi supra_.]

[Footnote 708: Among them Paul de Foix, ”who is cousin to the King of Navarre.” Throkmorton to Queen Elizabeth, June 23, 1559, Forbes i. 126.]

[Footnote 709: La Place, Com. de l'estat, etc., p. 14; Discours de la mort du Roy Henry II.; De Thou, ii. 671; Felibien, Hist. de Paris, ii.

1067; Vieilleville, ii. 405-406; Hist. eccles. i., 122-123. Even Anne de Montmorency was struck with Du Bourg's boldness, and exclaimed, ”Vous faictes la bravade.” Forbes, State Papers, i. 126.]

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