Part 23 (2/2)
The troubles andhis lifetime; in this tomb at least let him have peace”
The worthy antiquary offered s, but I refused these with a look of horror He sold the coins to the King, and inforht him in about one hundred thousand livres up to the present ti said to him playfully, ”Mind what you are about, monsieur; that sentence which I translated for you is not of a very, reassuring nature”
”Yet it will not serve to hinder me in my scientific researches,” replied the savant ”Charon, who by now must be quite a rich man, evidently disdains all such petty hidden treasures as these To h Tournai, I made inquiries as to thisIt appears that he was surprised by robbers when despoiling one of these to him of all that he possessed, they buried hi, so as to save expense What a dismal sort of science! What a life, and what a death!
CHAPTER LIII
The Monks of Sainte Aed Wine--The Ade of Conde, which lasted only four days, the King, who had been present, left for Sebourg, whence he sent orders for the destruction of the principal forts of Liege, and for the ravaging of the Juliers district He treated the Neubourg estates in the same ruthless fashi+on, as the Duke had abandoned his attitude of neutrality, and had joined the Empire, Holland and Spain All the Cleves district, and those between the Meuse and the Vahal, were subjected to heavy taxation
Everywhere one saw faht, castles sacked, homesteads and convents in flames
The Duc de Villa-Her of Spain, and Williae, the Dutch leader, went hither and thither all over the country, endeavouring to rouse the people, and spur the of France
These two noble generalissimi even found their way into monasteries and nunneries, and carried off their silver plate, actually, seizing the consecrated vessels used for the sacraood cause
One day they entered a wealthy Bernardine monastery, where the reat veneration shown for this saint in all the country thereabouts had served greatly to enrich the cos The chapel wherein the saint's heart was said to repose was lighted by a huge gold la were thousands of votive offerings in enaood Catholic) dared not give orders for the pillage of this holy chapel, but left that to the Prince of Orange (a good Huguenot)
One evening they ca that he was at the mercy of both ar supper, when the two generals informed him of the object of their secret visit, he clearly perceived that the monastery was about to be sacked, and like a man of resource, at once uests wine that had been drugged The generals, growing drowsy, soon fell asleep, and the prior at once caused them to be carried off to a cell and placed upon a coht mass as usual, and at its close he su the counsel and advice
”My brethren,” asked he, ”ought we not to look upon our prisoners as profaners of holy places, and serve them in secret and before God as once the admirable Judith served Holofernes?”
At this proposal there was a generalhow perilous was the situation, order was soon restored
The old ht not yet to be sacrificed, but should be shut up in a subterranean dungeon, atheir capture
The youngit to be treacherous, disgraceful, felonious The prior endeavoured toot the upper hand They deposed the prior, abused and assaulted hi him into prison One of them was appointed prior without ballot, and this new leader, followed by his adherents, roused the generals and officiously sent the Bernardine, accompanied by a lay brother and two or three servants, set out across country that night, and brought infor his Majesty to save his worthy uncle's life
At the head of six hundred dragoons, the King hastened to the convent and at once rescued the prior, sending the good oldthe rebellious young ones a the Carthusian and Trappist monasteries All the treasures contained in the chapel he had transferred to his camp, until a calmer, more propitious season
That priceless capture, the Prince of Orange, escaped hi, as he narrated the incident, ”Were it not that I feared to bring dishonour upon n andSaint-Bernard monks”
”What a vile breed they all are!” I cried, losing all patience