Memoires,

ad ann. 1572.

father and brother, efcaped. The horror of this night is not to be conceived; and we may safely refer for farther patticulars to the fine defcription which mr. Voltaire has given of it, in the fecond canto of his Henriade, fince even the imagination of a poet cannot foar beyond the real matter of fact.

The reader may probably by this time be curious to know, what was become of Sully, as well as of his master the king of Navarre; and nothing can inform him more agreeably, than Sully's own account. "I was in bed," say he, "and "awaked from fleep three hours after midnight by the "found of all the bells, and the confufed cries of the popu"lace. My governor St. Julian, with my valet de chambre, "went hastily out to know the caufe; and I never after"wards heard more of thefe men, who, without doubt, ' were among the first that were facrificed to the public "fury. I continued alone in my chamber dreffing myself, "when in a few moments I faw my landlord enter, pale, "and in the utmost confternation. He was of the reformed "religion; and, having learned what the matter was, had "confented to go to mafs, to preferve his life, and his house "from being pillaged. He came to perfuade me to do the "fame, and to take me with him: I did not think proper "to follow him, but refolved to try, if I could gain the "college of Burgundy, where I had studied; though the

great distance between the house where I then was, and "the college, made the attempt very dangerous. Having "difguifed myfelf in a fcholar's gown, I put a large prayer"book under my arm, and went into the street. I was "feized with horror inexpreffible, at the fight of the furious "murderers; who, running from all parts, forced open the "houses, and cried aloud, " Kill! kill! maflacre the Hu"guenots! The blood, which I faw thed before my eyes, "redoubled my terror. I fell into the midft of a body of guards; they stopped me, queftioned me, and were be

ginning to ufe me ill, when, happily for me, the book "that I carried was perceived, and ferved me for a passport. "Twice after this, I fell into the fame danger, from which "I extricated myfelf with the fame good fortune. At last "I arrived at the college of Burgundy, where a danger ftill

4

greater

greater than any I had yet met with, awaited me. The 66 porter having twice refufed me entrance, I continued "ftanding in the midft of the street, at the mercy of the "furious murderers, whose numbers increased every mo

ment, and who were evidently feeking for their prey; "when it came into my mind to ask for La Faye, the "principal of this college, a good man, by whom I was "tenderly beloved. The porter, prevailed upon by some "fmall pieces of money which I put into his hand, ad"mitted me; and my friend carried me to his apartment, "where two inhuman priefts, whom I heard mention Sici"lian vefpers, wanted to force me from him, that they "might cut me in pieces; faying, the order was, not to "fpare even infants at the breast. All the good man could "do was to conduct me privately to a diftant chamber, "where he locked me up; and here I was confined three «days, uncertain of my destiny, feeing no one but a fer"vant of my friend, who came from time to time to bring "me provifion."

As to Henry, king of Navarre, though he had been married to Charles the IXth's fifter but fix days before, with the greatest folemnity, and with all the marks of kindness and affection from the court, yet he was treated with not a jot more ceremony than the reft. He was awaked two hours before day by a great number of foldiers, who rufhed boldly into a chamber in the Louvre, where he and the prince of Conde lay, and infolently commanded them to dress themfelves, and attend the king. They would not fuffer the two princes to take their swords with them, who, as they went, faw feveral of their gentlemen maffacred before their eyes. This was contrived doubtlefs, to intimidate them; and, with the fame view, as Henry went to the king, the queen gave orders, that they fhould lead him under the vaults, and make him país through the guards, drawn up in files on each fide, and in menacing poftures. He trembled, and recoiled two or three fteps back; but the captain of the guards fwearing, that they fhould do him no hurt, he proceeded through amidst carbines and halberts. The king waited for them, and received them with a countenance and eyes full of fury: he ordered them with oaths and blafphe

mies,

32

mies, which were familiar with him, to quit a religion, which he said had been taken up only for a cloak to their rebellion he told them in a fierce and angry tone, that " he would no longer be contradicted in his opinions by

his fubjects; that they by their example fhould teach "others to revere him as the image of God, and cease to *be enemies to the images of his mother;" and ended by declaring, that "if they did not go to mafs, he would treat "them as criminals guilty of treason against divine and "human majefty." The manner of pronouncing these words not suffering the princes to doubt the fincerity of them, they yielded to neceffity, and performed what was required of them: and Henry was even obliged to send an edict into his dominions, by which the exercise of any other religion but the Romish was forbid.

In the mean time the court fent orders to the governors in all the provinces, that the fame deftruction should be made of the proteftants there as had been at Paris, but many of them nobly refused to execute these orders; and one of them had the courage to write a letter to Charles IX. in which he plainly told his majefty, that " he was ready "to die for his fervice, but could not affaffinate any man "for his fervice." Yet the abettors and prime actors in this tragedy at Paris were wonderfully satisfied with themfelves, and found much comfort in having been able to do so much for the caufe of God and his church. Tavannes, mentioned above, who ran about the streets crying, "Let "blood! let blood!" being upon his death-bed, made a general confeffion of the fins of his life; after which his confeffor faying to him with an air of aftonishment, "Why! "you speak not a word of St. Bartholomew;" he replied, "I look upon that as a meritorious action, which ought "to atone for all the fins I have ever committed." This is related by his fon, who has written memoirs of him. The king himself must have supposed real merit to have been in it; for, not content with fetting his feal and fanction to thefe deteftable butcheries, he is credibly affirmed to have taken the carbine into his own hands, and to have shot at the poor Huguenots as they attempted to escape. The court of Rome did all they could to confirm the Parifians in this

horrid notion: for though pope Pius V. is faid to have been fo much afflicted at the maflacre, as to fhed tears, yet Gregory XIII. who fucceeded him, ordered a public thanksgiving to God for it to be offered at Rome, and fent a legate to congratulate Charles IX. and to exhort him to continue it, Father Daniel contents himself with faying, that the king's zeal in his terrible punishment of the heretics, was commended at Rome; and Baronius affirms the action to have been abfolutely neceffary. The French writers, however, have spoken of it in the manner it deferves; have represented it as the most wicked and inhuman devastation that ever was committed: "an execrable action," fays one of them, Perefixe's “that never had, and I trust God will never have, its like." Hiftory of Henry the Mr. Voltaire has given us his fentiments of it in his agree- Great. able and instructive manner: "This frightful day of St.-Effay for "Bartholomew," fays he, "had been meditating and pre-nerale, tom. "paring for two years. It is difficult to conceive, how iii. p. 363. “fuch a woman as Catharine de Medicis, brought up in 1756, 8vd. "pleasures, and at whom the Huguenot party took less "umbrage than any other, could form fo barbarous a refo lution it is ftill more aftonifhing in a king only twenty

years old. The faction of the Guifes had a great hand "in this enterprife; and they were animated to it by two Ita"lians, the cardinal de Birague, and the cardinal de Retz;" called in Sully's Memoirs the duke de Retz, and the chancellor de Birague. "They did great honour upon this oc"cafion to the maxims of Machiavel, and especially to that " which advises never to commit a crime by halves. The

maxim, never to commit crimes, had been even more po"litic; but the French manners were become favage by "the civil wars, in fpite of the feafts and pleasures which "Catharine de Medicis was perpetually contriving at court, "This mixture of gallantry and fury, of pleafures and car"nage, makes the moft fantaftical piece, which the contra"dictions of the human fpecies are capable of painting." Indeed, one would not cafily imagine, that amidst feaftings and merriments, a plot was all the while carrying on for the deftruction of 70,000 fouls: for fuch, according to Sully's Memoirs, was the number of proteftants maffacred, during eight days, throughout the kingdom.

VOL. XI.

C

At

l'hiftoire ge

Perefixe,

&C.

At the end of three days, however, a prohibition for murdering and piilaging any more of the proteftants was publifhed at Paris, and then Sully was fuffered to quit his cell in the college of Burgundy. He immediately faw two foldiers of the guard, agents of his father, entering the college, who gave his father a relation of what had happened to him; and eight days after, he received a letter from him, advising him to continue in Paris, fince the prince he ferved was not at liberty to leave it; and adding, that he fhould follow the prince's example in going to mafs. Though the king of Navarre had faved his life by this fubmiffion, yet in other things he was treated but very indifferently, and fuffered a thoufand capricious infults. He was obliged against his will, to ftay fome years at the court of France: he knew very well how to diffemble his chagrin; and he often drove it away by the help of gallantry, which his own conftitution, and the corruption of the ladies, made very easy to him. The lady de Sauves, wife to one of the secretaries of ftate, was one of his chief miftreffes. But he was not fo taken up with love, as altogether to neglect political intrigues. He had a hand in those that were formed to take away the government from Catharine de Medicis, and to expel the Guifes from court: which that queen discovering, caufed him and the duke of Alençon to be arrested, set guards upon them, and ordered them to be examined upon many heinous allegations. They were fet at liberty by Henry III. for Charles IX. died in the year 1574, in the moft exquifite torments and horrors, the maflacre upon St. Bartholomew's-day having been always in his mind. Sully employed this leiture in the moft advantageous manner he was able. He found it impracticable in a court to purfue the ftudy of the learned languages, or of any thing called learning; but the king of Navarre ordered him to be taught mathematics and hiftory, and all thofe exercifes which give cafe and gracefulnefs to the perfon; that method of educating youth, with a ftill greater attention to form the manners, being known to be peculiar to Henry the IVth of France, who was himself educated in the fame way.

In the year 1576, the king of Navarre made his escape from the court of France. The means were one day offered