Chapter 61
CHAPTER XLVII. And a few days later, at Halle, quote, I no longer know what to do with the troops, for the places in which I had meant to post them get converted all in a body. And this goes on so quickly that all the men can do is to sleep for a night at the localities to which I send them.
It is certain that you may add very nearly a third to the estimate given you of the people of the religion, amounting to the number of a hundred and eighty-two thousand men, and when I ask you to give me until the twenty-fifth of next month for their complete conversion, I took too long a term, for I believe that by the end of the month all will be settled. I will not, however, omit to tell you that all we have done in these conversions will
be nothing but useless if the king do not oblige the bishops to send good priests to instruct the people who want to hear the gospel preached. But I fear that the king will be worse obeyed in that respect by the priests than by the religionists. I do not tell you this without grounds.
Quote, there is not a courier who does not bring the king great causes for joy, writes Madame de Métnaud. That is to say, conversions by thousands. I can quite believe that all these conversions are not sincere, but God makes use of all ways of bringing back heretics.
Their children at any rate will be Catholics. Their outward reunion places them within reach of the truth. Pray God to enlighten them all. There is nothing the king has more at heart. End quote.
In the month of August 1684 she said, quote, the king has a design of laboring for the entire conversion of the heretics. He often has conferences about it with Monsieur le Tellier and Monsieur de Châteauneuf, whereat I was given to understand that I should not be one too many. Monsieur de Châteauneuf proposed measures which are not expedient.
There must be no precipitation. It must be conversion, not persecution. Monsieur de Louvois was for gentleness, which is not in accordance with his nature, and his eagerness to see matters ended. The king is ready to do what is thought most likely to conduce to the good of religion.
Such an achievement will cover him with glory before God and before men. He will have brought back all his subjects into the bosom of the church, and will have destroyed the heresy which his predecessors could not vanquish. End quote. The king's glory was about to be complete.
The gentleness of Louvois had prevailed. He had found himself obliged to moderate the zeal of his superintendents. Quote, nothing remained but to weed out the religionists of the small towns and villages. End quote. By stretching a point the process had been carried into the Principality of Orange,
which still belonged to the House of Nassau, on the pretext that the people of that district had received in their chapels the king's subjects. The Count of Tessay, who had charge of the expedition, wrote to Louvois, quote, Not only on one and the same day did the whole town of Orange become converted, but the state took the same resolution, and the members of the Parliament, who were minded to distinguish
themselves by a little more stubbornness, adopted the same course twenty-four hours afterwards. All this was done gently, without violence or disorder. There is only a parson named Chambrin, patriarch of the district, who persists in refusing to listen to reason.
For the President, who did aspire to the honor of martyrdom, would, as well as the rest of the Parliament, have turned Mohammedan if I had desired it. You would not believe how infatuated all these people were, and are still, about the Prince of Orange, his authority, Holland, England, and the Protestants of Germany. I should never end if I were to recount all the foolish and impertinent proposals they
have made to me. End quote. Monsieur de Tessay did not tell Louvois that he was obliged to have the pastors of Orange seized and carried off. They were kept twelve years in prison at Pierre-Arcise.
None but Monsieur de Chambrin, who had been taken to Valence, managed to escape and take refuge in Holland, bemoaning to the end of his days a moment's weakness. Quote. I was quite exhausted by torture, and I let fall this unhappy expression. Very well, then, I will be reconciled.
This sin has brought me down, as it were, into hell itself, and I have looked upon myself as a dastardly soldier who turned his back on the day of battle, and as an unfaithful servant who betrayed the interests of his master. End quote. The king assembled his council.
The lists of converts were so long that there could scarcely remain in the kingdom more than a few thousand recalcitrants. Quote. His majesty proposed to take an ultimate resolution as regarded the Edict of Nantes, writes the Duke of Burgundy in a memorandum found amongst his papers.
Quote. Monseigneur represented that, according to an anonymous letter he had received the day before, the Iguenots had some expectation of what was coming upon them, that there was perhaps some reason to fear that they would take up arms, relying upon the protection of the princes of their religion, and that supposing they dared not do so, a great number
would leave the kingdom which would be injurious to commerce and agriculture, and for that same reason would weaken the state. The king replied that he had foreseen all for some time past, and had provided for all, that nothing in the world would be more painful to him than to shed a single drop of the blood of his subjects, but that he had armies and good generals whom he would employ in case
of need against rebels who courted their own destruction. As for calculations of interest, he thought them worthy of but little consideration in comparison with the advantages of a measure which would restore to religion its splendour, to the state its tranquillity, and to authority all its rights. A resolution was carried unanimously for the suppression of the Edict of Nantes.
End quote. The declaration, drawn up by Chancellor Le Tellier and Chateauneuf, was signed by the king on the 15th of October 1685. It was dispatched on the 17th to all the superintendents. The Edict of Pacification, that great work of the liberal and prudent genius of Henry
IV, respected and confirmed in its most important particulars by Cardinal Le Chollier, recognized over and over again by Louis XIV himself, disappeared at a single stroke, carrying with it all hope of liberty, repose, and justice for fifteen hundred thousand subjects of the king. Quote.
Our pains, said the preamble of the Edict, have had the end we had proposed, seeing that the better and the greater part of our subjects of the religion styled Reformed have embraced the Catholic. The execution of the Edict of Nantes consequently remaining useless, we have considered that we could not do better for the purpose of effacing entirely the memory of the evils
which this false religion has caused in our kingdom, than revoke entirely the aforesaid Edict of Nantes, and all that has been done in favour of the said religion. End quote. The Edict of October 15, 1685, supposed the religion styled Reformed to be already destroyed and abolished.
It ordered the demolition of all the chapels that remained standing, and interdicted any assembly or worship. Recalcitrant or opignatres ministers were ordered to leave the kingdom within fifteen days. The schools were closed, all new born babies were to be baptized by the parish priests.
Religionists were forbidden to leave the kingdom on pain of the galleys for the men, and confiscation of person and property for the women. Quote. The will of the king, said Superintendent Marie-Aquitrois, is that there be no more than one religion in this kingdom.
It is for the glory of God and the well-being of the state. End quote. Two hours were allowed the reformers of Rouen for making their abjuration. One clause at the end of the Edict of October 15 seemed to extenuate its effect. Quote.
Those of our subjects of the religion styled Reformed, who shall persist in their errors, pending the time when it may please God to enlighten them like the rest, shall be allowed to remain in the kingdom, country, and lands which obey the king, there to continue their and enjoy their property without being liable to be vexed or hindered on pretext of prayer or worship of the said religion of whatever nature they may be.
Quote. Never was their illusion more cruel than that which this clause caused people, says Benoît in his Histoire de l'Édite de Nantes. Quote. It was believed that the king meant only to forbid special exercises, but that he intended
to leave conscience free, since he granted this grace to all those who were still reformers, pending the time when it should please God to enlighten them. Many gave up the measures they had taken for leaving the country with their families. Many voluntarily returned from the retreats where they had hitherto been fortunate enough to lie hid.
The most mistrustful dared not suppose that so solemn a promise was only made to be broken on the morrow. They were all nevertheless mistaken, and those who were imprudent enough to return to their homes were only just in time to receive the dragoons there. End quote.
A letter from Louvois to the Duke of Noailles put a stop to all illusion. Quote. I have no doubt, he wrote, that some rather heavy billets upon the few amongst the nobility and third estate still remaining of the religionists will undeceive them as to the mistake they are under about the edict M. de Châteauneuf drew up for us.
His Majesty desires that you should explain yourself very sternly, and that extreme severity should be employed against those who are not willing to become of his religion. Those who have the silly vanity to glory in holding out to the last must be driven to extremity. End quote.
The pride of Louis XIV was engaged in the struggle. Those of his subjects who refused to sacrifice their religion to him were disobedient, rebellious, and besotted with silly vanity. Quote. It will be quite ridiculous before long to be of that religion, wrote Mme de Macnau.
Even in his court and amongst his most useful servants the king encountered unexpected opposition. Marshal Schomburg with great difficulty obtained authority to leave the kingdom. The illustrious old man, whom the Algerian corsairs called quote, the old French captain, whose bride is the sea, and whom the angel of death has forgotten, end quote, received permission to reside in France without being troubled about his religion, quote, for sixty
years I have rendered to Caesar that which was Caesar's, said the sailor proudly. It is time to render unto God that which is God's, end quote. And when the king regretted that his religion prevented him from properly recognizing his glorious career, quote, Sir, said Ducan, I am a Protestant, but I always thought that my services were Catholic, end quote.
Ducan's children went abroad. When he died, 1688, his body was refused to them. His sons raised a monument to him at Aubun, in the canton of Beren, with this inscription, quote, This tomb awaits the remains of Ducan. Passer, should you ask why the Hollanders have raised a superb monument to Reuter vanquished,
and why the French have refused a tomb to Reuter's vanquisher, the fear and respect inspired by a monarch whose power extends afar do not allow me to answer, end quote. Of the rest, only the Marquis of Rivigny and the Princess of Torento, daughter-in-law of the Duke of La Tremoye and issue of the House of Hesse, obtained authority to leave France. All ports were closed, all frontiers watched.
The great lords gave way, one after another. Accustomed to enjoy royal favors, attaching to them excessive value, living at court close to Paris, which was spared a great deal during the persecution, they, without much effort, renounced a face which closed to them henceforth the door to all offices and all honors. The gentlemen of the provinces were more resolute.
Many realized as much as they could of their property, and went abroad, braving all dangers, even that of the galleys in case of arrest. The Duke of La Force had abjured, then repented of his abjuration, only to relapse again. One of his cousins, seventy-five years of age, was taken to the galleys. He had for his companion, Louis de Marolles, late king's counselor,
"'I live just now all alone,' wrote the latter to his wife. "'My meals are brought from outside. If you saw me in my beautiful convict dress you would be charmed. The iron I wear on my leg, though it weighs only three pounds, inconvenienced me at first far more than that which you saw me in at La Tournelle.'"
Files of Protestant galley convicts were halted in the towns, in the hope of inspiring the obstinate with a salutary terror. The error which had been fallen into, however, was perceived at court. The stand made by Protestants astounded the superintendents as well as Louis himself. Everywhere men said, as they said at Dieppe,
"'We will not change our religion for anybody. The king has power over our persons and our property, but he has no power over our consciences.'" There was fleeing in all directions. The governors grew weary of watching the coasts and the frontiers. "'The way to make only a few go,' said Louis,
"'is to leave them liberty to do so without letting them know it.'" Any way was good enough to escape from such oppression. "'Two days ago,' wrote M. de Tessay, who commanded at Grenoble, "'a woman, to get safe away, hit upon an invention which deserves to be known. She made a bargain with a Savoyard, an iron-monger, and had herself packed up in a load of iron
rods, the ends of which shewed. It was carried to the Custom House, and the tradesmen paid on the weight of the iron, which was weighed together with the woman, who was not unpacked until she was six leagues from the frontier. "'For a long time,' says M. Flocket, there was talk in Normandy of the Count of Marence,
who in the middle of a severe winter, flying with thirty-nine others on board a fishing smack, encountered a tempest, and remained a long time at sea without provisions, dying of hunger. He, the Countess, and all the passengers, amongst whom were pregnant women, mothers with infants at the breast, without resources of any sort, reduced for lack of everything
to a little melted snow, with which they moistened the parched lips of the dying babies.'" It were impossible to estimate precisely the number of emigration. It was probably between three and four hundred thousand. "'To speak only of our own province,' writes M. Flocket in his Histoire du Parlement de Normandy, about one hundred and eighty-four thousand religionists went away.
More than twenty-six thousand habitations were deserted. In Rouen there were counted no more than sixty thousand men, instead of the eighty thousand that were to be seen there a few years before. Almost all trade was stopped there as well as in the rest of Normandy. The little amount of manufacture that was possible rotted away on the spot for want
of transport to foreign countries, whence vessels were no longer found to come. Rouen, Darnetal, Elbeuf, Louvier, Côte-de-Bac, Le Havre, Pont-Audamaire, Cayenne, Seylo, Alençon, and Bailleux were falling into decay. The different branches of trade and industry which had but lately been seen flourishing having perished through the emigration of the masters whom their skilled workmen followed
in shoals." The Norman emigration had been very numerous thanks to the extent of its coasts and the habitual communication between Normandy, England, and Holland. Vauban, however, remained very far from the truth when he deplored, in 1688, It is a natural but a striking fact that the reformers who left France and were received
with open arms in Brandenburg, Holland, England, and Switzerland carried in their hearts a profound hatred for the king who drove them away from their country, and everywhere took service against him while the Protestants who remained in France bound to the soil by a thousand indissoluble ties continued at the same time to be submissive and faithful. Quote,
In 1745, after sixty years' persecution, consequent upon the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, Mathieu d'Azubas, a young pastor accused before the superintendent of Languedoc, Lanin, said with high-spirited modesty, quote, The pastors were hanged or burned, the faithful flock dragged to the galleys in the tower of Constance. Prayers for the king, nevertheless, were sent up from the prescribed assemblies
in the desert whilst the pulpit of Suren at the Hague resounded with his anathemas against Louis XIV, and the regiments of emigrant Huguenot were marching against the king's troops under the flags of England or Holland.
