6Gp Mtnioirs of Hetirj/ Ihe Great 



palsird v\illi :ippi(lior.?iiin, pUircd liim- smctaiy of fiimncrs; 



sfir l)tlv\( en the twn giinrds, not doiihf- 

 irig but ilciitli was In piovf his lot; Ve- 

 ziris tlioii cniiscd him to mount on horsc- 

 Lar-k,an(l sjiccdilj hnnied from Iho city 

 without sfdjipinj; or prononncing: a syl- 

 lable, when lie proceeded direct to iiis 

 castio at Qiierri. " Ilr}-fi you are in 

 safely," said Veziiis; " / mig/it have 

 iakrn advantas^e of the occasion to avinsre 

 myself, but viih brave men it is necessary 

 to share danger ; it is on that account [ 

 have saved yim. When yun think fit, you 

 will find me ready to ierniinate our 

 Hvarrel in a manner becomini^ s;eiit/e- 

 men." Rrgnier only replied by iilteriiij; 

 protestations of gratitude, and snppli- 

 tatiiij; liis friendsliip. "/ leave you at 

 liberty to hate or to lore me," said the 

 liarsli Veziiis ; " and I only conducted 

 you hither that you mifcht be placed in a 

 situation to make the choice." Without 

 aViiiiiiij;- a leply, lie tiien set spurs to 

 liis horse, and imrnediattiy disai'ponrQd. 



Houillard, n 

 counsellor of Ihe parlianunt ; Chapes 

 and Robert, two celebrated advocates; 

 Salcede, well known for his quarrels 

 with the family of the Guises; Villc- 

 nnu% nephew of the arcienl keeper of 

 the seals ; lonjellier with a lona; list of 

 other personages rqually consfiicuous 

 for their probity and pub'.ic worth. 



Brantome records, that many of his 

 associates, gentlemen by biitli like him- 

 self, acquired as much as ten thousand 

 crowns by the plunder; and to sUeli an 

 extent was this effrontery carried, that 

 llic robbers, wilhout shame, presented 

 themselves at court, offering to tlie king 

 and queen precious Jewels, the fruits ok" 

 their deprcdations,vvliich were graciously 

 accepted by their majesties. 



Ladies of the court werd seen witli 

 unblushing countenances scrutinizing 

 the nake;l dead l;odics of their foimer 

 fricnils, and endeavouring to find out, 

 by their licentious observations, snb- 



'I'lie Dukesof Ouise a:.d iMontiK nsier, jccts ealenlaled to excite risibility 



and the bastard of Angoulenx', pr(;mc- 

 nailing liirongli the stieets, openly 

 staled lliat it was the king's will that 

 flie very last of this race of vipers sliould 

 1)0 cru.vjied and killed. Urged on by 

 thcKO exhortations, the bands of arnied 

 citizens became fnilous in abetting the 

 slanghU r of their bretiiren, as had hc< n 

 proniisod by the p^o^ ost of the merchants 

 of Paris during his interview with liie 

 king and Marslvil Tavaimes; in proof 

 of which one Crure, a Jeweller, display- 



ing his iiak< 

 aloud ll.at 



iauntcd 



d and bloody 



lie had cut tl e throats of 

 more than four hundred Huguenots in 

 one ilay. 



"VVe must not, liowe\cr, conceive that 

 religion alone shaijiened the daggers of 

 the assassins, since many Cathoiics, 

 publicly known as such, jierished duiing 

 t.lie tumult; lieiis kil!((l their parents; 

 literary men cut short tlio career of 

 tlnvse by wlioin their labours were 

 eclipsed ; lovers oflered up their rivals 

 as sacrifices to Jealonsy ; riches were 

 construed into a ctinie; lia'ied was a 

 legitimate plea lor eiaeltv, and the 

 overvil'.ehning torrent of example swal- 

 lowed up in its Vortex men formed to 

 instriu'^t others in tiie precepts of honour 

 and of virtue. 



If any examples were necessary to 

 substantiate tliese facts, we need only 

 refer the reader to La Popeliniere, vol. i. 

 who states that the following, among 

 other individuals of the Cathoiic per- 

 suasion, perished from motives of ven- 

 geaiue, hatred, or pique: — Lomcnie, 



The impetuous Charles, having once 

 given way to passion, set no bounds to 

 his rage, which so far triumphed over 

 every manly feeling as to urge him to 

 (ire, from a balcony ofone of the windows 

 of the Louvre in front of the Seine, upon 

 his wretched fugitive subjects. This 

 ciicumstance is narrated in Brantome, 

 and Was further verified by Voltaire, 

 who, in one of the notes to his Henriade, 

 states, that old Marshal de Lasse in- 

 formed him he had known, in his youth, 

 a geullenniu jiged ninety, who had 

 served Charles tlie Ninth in the capacity 

 of a page, and that the venerable per- 

 sonage in question had alBrmeil to the 

 marshal, that he was employed in load- 

 ii;g the ar(|uebuse wherewith the king 

 fired upon the populace. Inconsequence 

 of this anecdote, during the revolution, 

 a board was aiTi\ed over the v\indow in 

 qu< stion, bearing an inscription to the 

 following effect: — 



" It was from this window that the 

 tyrant Charles the JSiuth, of sanguinary 

 memory, fired upon his faithful subjects, . 

 the nnfortiinale Huguenots, during the 

 massacre of Saint Bartholomeiv." 



Dining this career of blood, the king 

 <lid not remain witiiin the walls of his 

 palace, but paraded Ihrough the streets 

 of Paris, accompanied by his whole 

 court ; a brilliant retiunc, which afibrdcd 

 a revolting contrast to Ihe traces of 

 massacre that were legibly imprinted 

 tipon all the walls; and it is fnrlher 

 stated, that he went to the place of exe- 

 cution, at Monllancon, in order to gaze 



