THE HUGUE:t^OTS IN FRANCE 49 



of gentlemen." On the dissolution of a cliurcli their 

 houses often formed a centre for the scattered congre- 

 gation. To "seize the nobility" was the King's first 

 order to the dragoons, showing his estimate of their in- 

 fluence and power. 



Powerful nobles, like the great Prince of Cond6 and the conde and 

 illustrious Admiral Coligny, espoused the cause of the ^°''^"^ 

 Reformed Church and demanded liberty of worship for its 

 adherents. Finally, in 1561, it became evident that the 

 old state of affairs could not go on ; the Huguenot leaders 

 brought great pressure to bear on the throne, and after 

 many vexing delays the famous " Edict of January " was 

 issued, giving to the Huguenots the right to worship un- 

 molested by rabble or clergy. The schools and hospitals 

 were thrown open to all, and the Huguenots were per- 

 mitted to hold all offices of dignity and responsibility. 

 It was a great victory for freedom of conscience, and had 

 it been faithfully lived up to, France would have been 

 spared a series of devastating civil wars and the loss of 

 so many of her bravest and most industrious sons. 



But it was not the intention of the Catholic party to 

 admit their fellow-countrymen to anything like an equal- Massacre of 

 ity of worship with themselves, and so they proceeded at ^^^^^ 

 once to break faith with the Huguenots. In vain were 

 all appeals to the law, so that out of self-defense the 

 Huguenots were compelled to take up arms. They did 

 so, however, only after the greatest provocations : as for 

 example, when no punishment was meted out to the mui-- 

 derers of over a hundi-ed Huguenots who were peacefully 

 worshipping in their tabernacle at Vassy. This massacre 

 of Vassy was a needless and cold-blooded atrocity, and its 

 perpetrators were known ; but in spite of these facts and 

 in defiance of the "Edict of January," the mui-derers 

 were allowed to go unscathed. Such outrages and such source of Civii 

 breaches of faith made a resort to arms imperative and ^^'^ 

 gave rise to a series of civil wars that turned France into 

 a bloody battle-ground for over thirty years, and inau- 



