HUGUENOTS ' 



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HUGUENOTS 



English government in 1855, and finally settled 

 on the island of Guernsey, where he remained 

 until 1870. 



In his Napoleon the Little and History of a 

 Crime, written in the first year of his exile, 

 Hugo gave vent to his indignation over the 

 manner in which the Second Empire under 

 Napoleon III was founded. During his sojourn 

 in the Channel Islands he wrote, among other 

 works, the first part of his Legend of the Cen- 

 turies, an epic which in nobility and beauty 

 rivals Milton's Paradise Lost and Dante's 

 Divine Comedy ; it was here also that he wrote 

 the matchless Les Miserables and two other 

 well-known novels splendid in imaginative 

 power, The Man Who Laughs and Toilers of 

 the Sea. 



In 1870 France began its disastrous war with 

 Germany (see FRANCO-GERMAN WAR), and the 

 empire of Napoleon III was soon tottering to 

 its fall. In the troubled days that followed, 

 Hugo took his seat in the National Assembly, 

 which met at Bordeaux in 1871. Resigning in 

 March of that year, he went to Brussels, from 

 which he was expelled because of his defense of 

 the Paris Commune (see COMMUNE). Soon 

 after he returned to Paris. In 1872 he pub- 

 lished his Terrible Year, a volume of verse 

 recording the downfall of the empire, so noble 

 in spirit and so majestic in expression that it 

 even glorified disaster. His la?t great romance, 

 Ninety-three, an historic novel of the year 1793, 

 appeared in 1874, but volumes of verse came 

 from his pen until nearly the end of his life. 



He died on May 22, 1885, and his funeral 

 was a great public pageant as magnificent as 

 was ever accorded a king. He lies buried in 

 the Pantheon, the noble edifice in Paris de- 

 voted to the interment of the illustrious men 

 of France. B.M.W. 



Consult Swinburne's Study of Hugo. 



HUGUENOTS, hu'genots, a term of doubt- 

 ful origin, applied by the Roman Catholics to 

 the Protestants of France during the religious 

 struggles of the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 

 turies. The Huguenots drew their inspiration 

 from Calvin, and were at first bitterly disliked 

 by the court and the bulk of the people of 

 France. Under Henry II, 1547-1559, the Prot- 

 estant party grew strong, and persecution be- 

 gan. Under Francis II the Huguenots became 

 a political force and included within their 

 ranks Henry of Navarre, his brother Louis, the 

 Prince of Conde, Admiral Coligny, and many 

 others of high rank and great ability. At the 



head of the Roman Catholics stood the Guises, 

 who employed their influence- with the weak 

 young king against the Protestants. 



Upon the accession of Charles IX, the gov- 

 ernment was administered by the queen- 

 mother, Catharine de' Medici, who encouraged 

 the Protestants in the free exercise of their 

 religion, in order to curb the power of the 

 Guises. But the bitter feelings of both parties 

 plunged the country into the miseries of a 

 civil war. Catharine, fearing then that Protes- 

 tantism might become a permanent power in 

 the country, suddenly made an alliance with 

 the followers of the Duke of Guise, and 

 together they carried out the dreadful Mas- 

 sacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day, August 24, 

 1572. In the reign of the feeble Henry III, 

 the Huguenots, under the leadership of Henry 

 of Navarre and the Prince of Conde, became 

 very powerful; and the king and Catharine 

 were compelled to make humiliating conces- 

 sions which resulted in the "War of the Three 

 Henries." Finding himself at the mercy of the 

 Guises, Henry III caused the assassination of 

 the Duke of Guise and the cardinal of Lor- 

 raine. This crime excited a violent outbreak, 

 and to resist the opposition against him the 

 king allied himself with Henry of Navarre and 

 the Huguenots. 



After the assassination of Henry III, the king 

 of Navarre assumed the throne. However, it 

 was not until he had embraced the Roman 

 Catholic faith, in 1593, on advice of his minister 

 Sully, that he was able to enjoy quiet posses- 

 sion of his kingdom as Henry IV. In 1598 he 

 issued the famous Edict of Nantes, which con- 

 ferred upon the Huguenots liberty of con- 

 science and admission to all offices of honor 

 and emolument. The Huguenots now formed 

 a kind of republic within the kingdom, which 

 Richelieu, who looked upon it as an obstacle 

 to the growth of the royal power, determined to 

 crush. Despite the assistance of Charles I of 

 England, the Huguenots were compelled to 

 yield to the forces of Richelieu, and Rochelle, 

 as well as other Huguenot towns, surrendered. 

 Under the ministries of Richelieu and M;iz;t- 

 rin, however, the Huguenots were still allowed 

 freedom of conscience. Later, Louis XIV, 

 through the influence of Madame de Mainte- 

 non, revoked the Edict of Nantes. This was 

 followed by a terrible persecution, over 100,000 

 Huguenots being driven out, to carry their in- 

 dustry, wealth and skill to other countries. 

 Louis XV, also at the instigation of the Jesuit.-, 

 issued a new edict to repress Protestantism, 



