with the spoils of the condemned. The Lorrain princes had two objects in view; the increase of their own authority, and reputation. They well knew, nothing could be obtained at court, without her permission, and that it was reputable at court, to prevent, as much as possible, the progress of the reformation.

Diana of Poitiers, as this fine lady was frequently called, had another strong motive for being cruel to protestants. They were revered and protected by the dutchess d'Estampes, her rival in the king's favor; and, on that account, to mortify the dutchess seemed to be an object that deserved attention; and the more so, as the king was as ill disposed towards the reformed as herself.

But, cruel as Francis and Henry were, on many occasions, sometimes the ministers of their vengeance exceeded their commission. A case of this kind, let me here relate.

In the twelfth century, Peter Waldo, an opulent and pious merchant, at Lyons, became the leader of a poor, harmless, and inoffensive people, afterwards called the VAUDOIS. He retired with them, into the uncultivated vallies and deserts, between Provence and Dauphine, and was, unto them, both a father and a priest. Under such a leader, these poor people grew industrious, as well as pious. They cultivated the vallies, fertilized the deserts, sowed the fields, planted vineyards,

and,

and, in so doing, both themselves, and their cattle, were multipled greatly; so that, in little more than two centuries, the number of the VAUDOIS, is said to have cxceeded eighteen thousand.

When they heard of the reformation in Germany and France, they rejoiced; but, as it gained ground, they inadvertently discovered, that the sentiments of these reformers harmonized with their own: for, by so doing, they alarmed the catholic clergy, and drew down upon themselves uncom mon calamities.

At Merindol and Cabrieres, two towns in Pro vence, these harmless people suffered extremely: neither fire, nor sword, was spared to exterminate them; whole families were burnt in places where they had fled for refuge; men, women, and children, were killed without exception, nor was there any excess of cruelty, to which they were not exposed.

These dreadful outrages, were committed under the direction of cardinal de Tournon, by the governor of Provence, and the first president of the parliament of Aix, who ventured on crimes they were not allowed to commit. Francis the first, had only given up nine of these misrepresented people to their discretion, and they massacred some thousands.

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When the king knew of these things, he was highly offended, and charged his son to look into this affair. Cardinal Sadolet, who had probably heard of the king's displeasure, became the advocate of the remnant of this oppressed people, and was heard with attention. Henry ordered the parliament to examine into the nature and truth of their complaints; when, such scenes of injustice and cruelty were laid open, that cardinal de Tournon was severely rebuked; and the governor, count de Grignan, and the first president, signor d'Oppede, were compelled to make the surviving inhabitants of Merindol and Cabrieres, a pecuniary satisfaction, by giving them a considerable part of their estates. A poor recompence for the evils they had committed; but a better than was commonly the lot of the persecuted in those days to receive.

The torments which were then endured, by many protestants, in various parts of France, did not however, diminish, but increase the number of the reformed. The patience and piety of several of these sufferers, made stronger, impressions on the minds of many, than the sermons preached, and the books written, in the defence of the reformation: but the king remained inexorable; for though reflexions on the cruelties he had sanctioned, and on the heart piercing cries he had raised and heard, evidently made him uneasy, he pushed forward his persecuting projects with unabating rigor.

In 1553, some persons from Bearne, in the south of France, on the charge of heresy, were burnt to ashes. Among them, Louis de Marsac, a military man, was treated with some distinction, in compliment to his profession; that is, his tormentors exempted him from an indignity that his fellow sufferers were compelled to endure. The good man was not pleased with this indulgence, for he now considered himself a soldier of Jesus Christ, and wished to endure, with fortitude, ALL that his fellow sufferers were obliged to bear.

This year, a kind of gag was invented and made use of, to prevent those that were led to the stake from speaking to the people, and from singing psalms unto him, who had counted them worthy to suffer shame for his name. The inventor of this instrument, some time afterwards, was struck with an incurable disease in his feet, and resolved to starve himself to death. To prevent this rash resolution, his friends were advised to make use of one of his own gags, and thus to give him, by force, that food which he refused to accept. In those painful moments, the remark of Adoni-bezek, who said, As I have done, so God hath requited me, might have yielded him some instruction.

In the midst of continued and grievous sufferings, the churches of the reformed increased, not only in France, but even in Paris; and the reformation was there openly embraced, by persons of all

conditions: many were gained from the catholics; and amongst them, men of erudition, some of the most respectable members of parliament, and others, in the highest ranks of life. The psalms of David had been put into rhyme by Marot, and set to music; Beza had translated the New Testament; the gentry exposed the lives of the clergy; the lower orders of people, seemed highly pleased with the success of these united efforts, and did what they could, to bring forward, a real, and permanent reformation.

The king, the clergy, and the great majority of roman catholics, saw with other eyes, these promising proceedings. The clergy, who could hear profane songs without being offended, and see immoral exhibitions in the theatre, with apparent satisfaction, were vexed and alarmed to hear the psalms of David chanted with unfeigned devotion, and resolved to prohibit such rejoicing. The king, devoted to the pleasure of his clergy, demanded the most rigorous execution of the edict of Chateaubriand. He informed the parliament of his intention, and unexpectedly attended in person; where, after hearing some of their debates, he ordered several persons of consequence to be arrested. While he was thus employed, impatient to gratify his vindictive temper, and thousands of his catholic subjects evidently pleased with his avowed purpose; a strange incident put a final period to his criminal intentions.

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