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Daybreak in France
129
The French Reformers determined to strike a bold blow against the
superstitions of Rome that should arouse the whole nation. Placards
attacking the mass were in one night posted all over France. This
zealous but ill-judged movement gave the Romanists a pretext for
demanding the destruction of the “heretics” as agitators dangerous
to the throne and the peace of the nation.
One of the placards was attached to the door of the king’s private
[141]
chamber. The unexampled boldness of obtruding these startling
utterances into the royal presence aroused the wrath of the king. His
rage found utterance in the terrible words: “Let all be seized without
distinction who are suspected of Lutheresy. I will exterminate them
all.
The king had determined to throw himself fully on the side of
Rome.
A Reign of Terror
A poor adherent of the reformed faith who had been accustomed
to summon the believers to their secret assemblies was seized. With
the threat of instant death at the stake, he was commanded to conduct
the papal emissary to the home of every Protestant in the city. Fear
of the flames prevailed, and he consented to betray his brethren.
Morin, the royal detective, with the traitor, slowly and silently passed
through the streets of the city. On arriving opposite the house of a
Lutheran, the betrayer made a sign, but no word was uttered. The
procession halted, the house was entered, the family were dragged
forth and chained, and the terrible company went forward in search
of fresh victims. “Morin made all the city quake. ... It was a reign
of terror.
The victims were put to death with cruel torture, it being specially
ordered that the fire should be lowered in order to prolong their
agony. But they died as conquerors, their constancy unshaken, their
peace unclouded. Their persecutors felt themselves defeated. “All
Paris was enabled to see what kind of men the new opinions could
produce. There was no pulpit like the martyr’s pile. The serene joy
that lighted up the faces of these men as they passed along ... to the
9
D’Aubigne, bk. 2, ch. 30.
10
Ibid., bk. 4. ch. 10.