382 THE FRENCH BLOOD IN AMERICA 



the spirit of the American people, he was stirred at the 

 condition of affairs in the homeland, and at once became 

 a zealous pleader for the oppressed Huguenots. He ar- 

 gued with all his eloquence the right of the Protestants 

 at least to be permitted to marry and to die according to 

 their faith. His efforts were not successful at that time, 

 but, true to his high character, he cared nothing for the 

 obloquy which his stand brought upon him from the ec- 

 clesiastics. It is probable that he would have gained the 

 amount of liberty he sought for the Protestants had not 

 the clergy exhorted the king in opposition. Not daunted 

 at this failure, Lafayette again in the Assembly of Nota- 

 bles pleaded for the heretics, and was now more favourably 

 listened to. He was even seconded in his just and fair 

 propositions by the Bishop de Langres, and a petition was 

 Civil Rightp presented to the king. As a result an edict was regis- 

 tered which secured the Protestants in their civil rela- 

 tions, after nearly two centmues of bloodshed. The bigots 

 of course denounced the bishop as anti- Christ, and spared 

 no abuse or defamation of Lafayette for using his domi- 

 nant influence to secure this act of simple justice. After 

 the Revolution, which was the inevitable outcome of con- 

 ditions that had made such continued persecution of the 

 Huguenots possible in France, Napoleon granted religious 

 toleration, although Roman Catholicism remained as the 

 State Church. After another century, in which the 

 church has been as of old the enemy of political and re- 

 ligious liberty, the French government has broken with 

 Rome, and the Republic will probably see to it that re- 

 ligious liberty shall henceforth be actual, and every form 

 of religious persecution cease. 



