LANCASTER COUNTY. 515 



fneir freedom of government as men and the rights of conscience as Chris- 

 tians. Hence in its popular usage, this term conve^'ed the primary idea of 

 freemen, in contradistinction to mameluhes, serfs or slaves by which name 

 the party of the Duke was better known; and also the secondary idea of a 

 religious reformation, in the mind of the adherents to the Romish faith. For 

 the city of Geneva, having embraced the Reformed doctrines, and immedi- 

 ately thereafter, thrown of! their allegiance, under the circumstances already- 

 given, the term Ei<jenosstn became identified among the papists with the 

 notion of tthels, or aposioies tVom the church, and was therefore consequent- 

 ly used as a term of reproach. 



From Gesieva, where he had taught with so much success that instead of 

 Zurich, it became the metropolis of the Reformed Churches, Calvin, ardent 

 in the discharge of what he conceived his duly, pushed hia doctrines with 

 eminent success into his native kingdom of France. They were readily em- 

 braced by the learned anil the pious, without regard to caste or standing in 

 society. The admiral Caspar de Coligni, D' Andelot, Mornay, Duplessis, 

 La Rcnandie, the Prince de Conde Ann Dubourg, Theodore Beza, and a 

 host of others equally worthy and em.inent for tl:eir virtues, were among the 

 firmest supporters of the Reformation, and the teachers of its doctrines. Sus- 

 tained by such men even againet the power of the court; in the midst of 

 persecutions and civil wars — the professors of the Reformed religion were 

 spoken of with respect; and altiiough the term Eidgenoss, or Et'dgenct, was 

 known in France at that time, still no elTort was made to bring them into 

 disrepute by the application of this or any other term of ridicule except when 

 they were occasionally called "the pretended reformed^' or "seditious relig- 

 ionists" in the state papers. "JMius they remained, until on the accession of 

 Francis, II. to the throne and his early marriage with Mary, Queen of Scot- 

 land. Being very young in years, and devotedly attached to his young 

 Queen, he readily transfered the care of his kingdom to his wife's uncle, the 

 riukes of Guise and Lorraine. This begat discontent among the protestants 

 who only wanted a leader to organize them into a formidable body. Calvin 

 like Thomas Cranmer, the celebrated reformer, had taught that the king was 

 supreme, and acting upon this principle, the French Calvinists maintained 

 that the King being yet in his minority was to be protected by his subjects 

 from the tyranny of his uncles; to this end a plan w^as concerted known as 

 the conspiracy of Amboise, for their overthrow of which the Prince de Conde 

 was unanimously chosen leader; but without his knowledge, nor was he to 

 be considered as a participator, until the time of action arrived. John De 

 Bari, and the Sieur La Renandi, in the meantime were to direct ail their 

 movements. In conformity with this plan they convened a meeting of the 

 protestant leaders at Mantes, in the darkness of the night in a ruined building 

 on the outskirts of the town. Before they proceeded to develope their 

 schemes, ija Ranandi, administered solemn oaths that 'nothing be done or 

 attempted against the King and Queen-mother, or princes, his brothers.' To 

 this agreement they all swore ; and after praying for success, they parted 

 with fraternal embraces and in tears. The time and place of carrying their 

 plot into execution, was to be at Blois, on the 15th March, L5.50. By some 

 means the plot was discovered to the Count and therefore, the Duke of Guise 

 was appciiitod Lieutenant General of the Kingdom, with supreme power in 

 all cases, civil and military. Armed with this authority he adopted the most 

 energetic measures to suppress the protestants, and although succeeded in 

 defeating and killing La Renandi and a few of his ccMupanions, yet the 

 ii&ct was not produced which the Count anticipated; but on the contrary, 



