Canterbury was a place in which many of the unfortunate emigrants5 found a home. Here one Gaspard Vaillant, his wife, and her sister, who had landed in the year 1547, had established themselves. They were among the first comers, but the French colony had grown, gradually, until it numbered several hundreds. The Huguenots were well liked in the town, being pitied for their misfortunes, and admired for the courage with which they bore their losses; setting to work, each man at his trade if he had one, or if not, taking to the first work that came to hand. They were quiet and God-fearing folk; very good towards each other, and to their poor countrymen on their way from the coast to London, entertaining them to the best of their power, and sending them forward on their way with letters to the Huguenot committee in London, and with sufficient money in their pockets to pay their expenses on the journey, and to maintain them for a while until some employment could be found for them.
Gaspard Vaillant had been a landowner near Civray, in Poitou. He was connected by blood with several noble families in that district, and had been among the first to embrace the reformed religion. For some years he had not been interfered6 with, as it was upon the poorer and more defenceless classes that the first fury of the persecutors fell; but as the attempts of Francis to stamp out the new sect7 failed, and his anger rose more and more against them, persons of all ranks fell under the ban. The prisons were filled with Protestants who refused to confess their errors; soldiers were quartered in the towns and villages, where they committed terrible atrocities8 upon the Protestants; and Gaspard, seeing no hope of better times coming, or of being permitted to worship in peace and quietness, gathered together what money he could and made his way, with his wife and her sister, to La Rochelle, whence he took ship to London.
Disliking the bustle10 of a large town, he was recommended by some of his compatriots to go down to Canterbury, where three or four fugitives12 from his own part of the country had settled. One of these was a weaver13 by trade, but without money to manufacture looms14 or set up in his calling. Gaspard joined him as partner, embarking15 the little capital he had saved; and being a shrewd, clear-headed man he carried on the business part of the concern, while his partner Lequoc worked at the manufacture.
As the French colony in Canterbury increased, they had no difficulty in obtaining skilled hands from among them. The business grew in magnitude, and the profits were large, in spite of the fact that numbers of similar enterprises had been established by the Huguenot immigrants in London, and other places. They were, indeed, amply sufficient to enable Gaspard Vaillant to live in the condition of a substantial citizen, to aid his fellow countrymen, and to lay by a good deal of money.
His wife's sister had not remained very long with him. She had, upon their first arrival, given lessons in her own language to the daughters of burgesses, and of the gentry16 near the town; but, three years after the arrival of the family there, she had married a well-to-do young yeoman who farmed a hundred acres of his own land, two miles from the town. His relations and neighbours had shaken their heads over what they considered his folly17, in marrying the pretty young Frenchwoman; but ere long they were obliged to own that his choice had been a good one.
Just after his first child was born he was, when returning home one evening from market, knocked down and run over by a drunken carter, and was so injured that for many months his life was in danger. Then he began to mend, but though he gained in strength he did not recover the use of his legs, being completely paralysed from the hips18 downward; and, as it soon appeared, was destined19 to remain a helpless invalid20 all his life. From the day of the accident Lucie had taken the management of affairs in her hands, and having been brought up in the country, and being possessed21 of a large share of the shrewdness and common sense for which Frenchwomen are often conspicuous22, she succeeded admirably. The neatness and order of the house, since their marriage, had been a matter of surprise to her husband's friends; and it was not long before the farm showed the effects of her management. Gaspard Vaillant assisted her with his counsel and, as the French methods of agriculture were considerably23 in advance of those in England, instead of things going to rack and ruin, as John Fletcher's friends predicted, its returns were considerably augmented24.
Naturally, she at first experienced considerable opposition25. The labourers grumbled26 at what they called new-fangled French fashions; but when they left her, their places were supplied by her countrymen, who were frugal27 and industrious28, accustomed to make the most out of small areas of ground, and to turn every foot to the best advantage. Gradually the raising of corn was abandoned, and a large portion of the farm devoted29 to the growing of vegetables; which, by dint30 of plentiful31 manuring and careful cultivation32, were produced of a size and quality that were the surprise and admiration33 of the neighbourhood, and gave her almost a monopoly of the supply of Canterbury.
The carters were still English; partly because Lucie had the good sense to see that, if she employed French labourers only, she would excite feelings of jealousy34 and dislike among her neighbours; and partly because she saw that, in the management of horses and cattle, the Englishmen were equal, if not superior, to her countrymen.
Her life was a busy one. The management of the house and farm would, alone, have been a heavy burden to most people; but she found ample time for the tenderest care of the invalid, whom she nursed with untiring affection.
"It is hard upon a man of my size and inches, Lucie," he said one day, "to be lying here as helpless as a sick child; and yet I don't feel that I have any cause for discontent. I should like to be going about the farm, and yet I feel that I am happier here, lying watching you singing so contentedly35 over your work, and making everything so bright and comfortable. Who would have thought, when I married a little French lady, that she was going to turn out a notable farmer? All my friends tell me that there is not a farm like mine in all the country round, and that the crops are the wonder of the neighbourhood; and when I see the vegetables that are brought in here, I should like to go over the farm, if only for once, just to see them growing."
"I hope you will be able to do that, some day, dear. Not on foot, I am afraid; but when you get stronger and better, as I hope you will, we will take you round in a litter, and the bright sky and the fresh air will do you good."
Lucie spoke36 very fair English now, and her husband had come to speak a good deal of French; for the service of the house was all in that language, the three maids being daughters of French workmen in the town. The waste and disorder37 of those who were in the house when her husband first brought her there had appalled38 her; and the women so resented any attempt at teaching, on the part of the French madam, that after she had tried several sets with equally bad results, John Fletcher had consented to the introduction of French girls; bargaining only that he was to have good English fare, and not French kickshaws. The Huguenot customs had been kept up, and night and morning the house servants, with the French neighbours and their families, all assembled for prayer in the farmhouse39.
To this John Fletcher had agreed without demur40. His father had been a Protestant, when there was some danger in being so; and he himself had been brought up soberly and strictly41. Up to the time of his accident there had been two congregations, he himself reading the prayers to his farm hands, while Lucie afterwards read them in her own language to her maids; but as the French labourers took the place of the English hands, only one service was needed.
When John Fletcher first regained42 sufficient strength to take much interest in what was passing round, he was alarmed at the increase in the numbers of those who attended these gatherings43. Hitherto four men had done the whole work of the farm; now there were twelve.
"Lucie, dear," he said uneasily one day, "I know that you are a capital manager; but it is impossible that a farm the size of ours can pay, with so many hands on it. I have never been able to do more than pay my way, and lay by a few pounds every year, with only four hands, and many would have thought three sufficient; but with twelve--and I counted them this morning--we must be on the highroad to ruin."
"I will not ruin you, John. Do you know how much money there was in your bag when you were hurt, just a year ago now?"
"Yes, I know there were thirty-three pounds."
His wife went out of the room and returned with a leather bag.
"Count them, John," she said.
There were forty-eight. Fifteen pounds represented a vastly greater sum, at that time, than they do at present; and John Fletcher looked up from the counting with amazement44.
"Not with a penny, doubting man," she laughed. "The money is yours, all earned by the farm; perhaps not quite all, because we have not more than half as many animals as we had before. But, as I told you, we are growing vegetables, and for that we must have more men than for corn. But, as you see, it pays. Do not fear about it, John. If God should please to restore you to health and strength, most gladly will I lay down the reins46; but till then I will manage as best I may and, with the help and advice of my brother and his friends, shall hope, by the blessing47 of God, to keep all straight."
The farm throve, but its master made but little progress towards recovery. He was able, however, occasionally to be carried round in a hand litter, made for him upon a plan devised by Gaspard Vaillant; in which he was supported in a half-sitting position, while four men bore him as if in a Sedan chair.
But it was only occasionally that he could bear the fatigue48 of such excursions. Ordinarily he lay on a couch in the farmhouse kitchen, where he could see all that was going on there; while in warm summer weather he was wheeled outside, and lay in the shade of the great elm, in front of the house.
The boy, Philip--for so he had been christened, after John Fletcher's father--grew apace and, as soon as he was old enough to receive instruction, his father taught him his letters out of a horn book, until he was big enough to go down every day to school in Canterbury. John himself was built upon a large scale, and at quarterstaff and wrestling could, before he married, hold his own with any of the lads of Kent; and Philip bade fair to take after him, in skill and courage. His mother would shake her head reprovingly when he returned, with his face bruised49 and his clothes torn, after encounters with his schoolfellows; but his father took his part.
"Nay50, nay, wife," he said one day, "the boy is eleven years old now, and must not grow up a milksop. Teach him if you will to be honest and true, to love God, and to hold to the faith; but in these days it needs that men should be able to use their weapons, also. There are your countrymen in France, who ere long will be driven to take up arms, for the defence of their faith and lives from their cruel persecutors; and, as you have told me, many of the younger men, from here and elsewhere, will assuredly go back to aid their brethren.
"We may even have trials here. Our Queen is a Protestant, and happily at present we can worship God as we please, in peace; but it was not so in the time of Mary, and it may be that troubles may again fall upon the land, seeing that as yet the Queen is not married. Moreover, Philip of Spain has pretensions51 to rule here; and every Englishman may be called upon to take up bow, or bill, for his faith and country. Our co-religionists in Holland and France are both being cruelly persecuted52, and it may well be that the time will come when we shall send over armies to their assistance.
"I would that the boy should grow up both a good Christian53 and a stout54 soldier. He comes on both sides of a fighting stock. One of my ancestors fought at Agincourt, and another with the Black Prince at Cressy and Poitiers; while on your side his blood is noble and, as we know, the nobles of France are second to none in bravery.
"Before I met you I had thoughts of going out, myself, to fight among the English bands who have engaged on the side of the Hollanders. I had even spoken to my cousin James about taking charge of the farm, while I was away. I would not have sold it, for Fletchers held this land before the Normans set foot in England; but I had thoughts of borrowing money upon it, to take me out to the war, when your sweet face drove all such matters from my mind.
"Therefore, Lucie, while I would that you should teach the boy to be good and gentle in his manners, so that if he ever goes among your French kinsmen55 he shall be able to bear himself as befits his birth, on that side; I, for my part--though, alas56, I can do nothing myself--will see that he is taught to use his arms, and to bear himself as stoutly57 as an English yeoman should, when there is need of it.
"So, wife, I would not have him chidden when he comes home with a bruised face, and his garments somewhat awry58. A boy who can hold his own, among boys, will some day hold his own among men; and the fisticuffs, in which our English boys try their strength, are as good preparation as are the courtly sports; in which, as you tell me, young French nobles are trained. But I would not have him backward in these, either. We English, thank God, have not had much occasion to draw a sword since we broke the strength of Scotland on Flodden Field; and in spite of ordinances59, we know less than we should do of the use of our weapons. Even the rules that every lad shall practise shooting at the butts60 are less strictly observed than they should be. But in this respect our deficiencies can be repaired, in his case; for here in Canterbury there are several of your countrymen of noble birth, and doubtless among these we shall be able to find an instructor61 for Phil. Many of them are driven to hard shifts to procure62 a living; and since that bag of yours is every day getting heavier, and we have but him to spend it upon, we will not grudge63 giving him the best instruction that can be procured64."
Lucie did not dispute her husband's will; but she nevertheless tried to enlist65 Gaspard Vaillant--who was frequently up at the farm with his wife in the evening, for he had a sincere liking9 for John Fletcher--on her side; and to get him to dissuade66 her husband from putting thoughts into the boy's head that might lead him, some day, to be discontented with the quiet life on the farm. She found, however, that Gaspard highly approved of her husband's determination.
"Fie upon you, Lucie. You forget that you and Marie are both of noble blood, in that respect being of condition somewhat above myself, although I too am connected with many good families in Poitou. In other times I should have said it were better that the boy should grow up to till the land, which is assuredly an honourable67 profession, rather than to become a military adventurer, fighting only for vainglory. But in our days the sword is not drawn68 for glory, but for the right to worship God in peace.
"No one can doubt that, ere long, the men of the reformed religion will take up arms to defend their right to live, and worship God, in their own way. The cruel persecutions under Francis the First, Henry the Second, and Francis the Second have utterly69 failed in their object. When Merindol, Cabrieres, and twenty-two other towns and villages were destroyed, in 1547; and persons persecuted and forced to recant, or to fly as we did; it was thought that we were but a handful, whom it would be easy to exterminate70. But in spite of edict after edict, of persecution1, slaughterings, and burnings, in spite of the massacres71 of Amboise and others, the reformed religion has spread so greatly that even the Guises72 are forced to recognize it as a power. At Fontainebleau Admiral Coligny, Montmorency, the Chatillons, and others openly professed74 the reformed religion, and argued boldly for tolerance75; while Conde and Navarre, although they declined to be present, were openly ranged on their side. Had it not been that Henry the Second and Francis were both carried off by the manifest hand of God, the first by a spear thrust at a tournament, the second by an abscess in the ear, France would have been the scene of deadly strife76; for both were, when so suddenly smitten77, on the point of commencing a war of extermination78.
"But it is only now that the full strength of those who hold the faith is manifested. Beza, the greatest of the reformers next to Calvin himself, and twelve of our most learned and eloquent79 pastors80 are at Poissy, disputing upon the faith with the Cardinal82 of Lorraine and the prelates of the Romish church, in the presence of the young king, the princes, and the court. It is evident that the prelates are unable to answer the arguments of our champions. The Guises, I hear, are furious; for the present Catharine, the queen mother, is anxious for peace and toleration, and it is probable that the end of this argument at Poissy will be an edict allowing freedom of worship.
"But this will only infuriate still more the Papists, urged on by Rome and Philip of Spain. Then there will be an appeal to arms, and the contest will be a dreadful one. Navarre, from all I hear, has been well-nigh won over by the Guises; but his noble wife will, all say, hold the faith to the end, and her kingdom will follow her. Conde is as good a general as Guise73, and with him there is a host of nobles: Rochefoucauld, the Chatillons, Soubise, Gramont, Rohan, Genlis, and a score of others. It will be terrible, for in many cases father and son will be ranged on opposite sides, and brother will fight against brother."
"But surely, Gaspard, the war will not last for years?"
"It may last for generations," the weaver said gloomily, "though not without intermissions; for I believe that, after each success on one side or the other, there will be truces84 and concessions85; to be followed by fresh persecutions and fresh wars, until either the reformed faith becomes the religion of all France, or is entirely86 stamped out.
"What is true of France is true of Holland. Philip will annihilate87 the reformers there, or they will shake off the yoke88 of Spain. England will be driven to join in one or both struggles; for if papacy is triumphant89 in France and Holland, Spain and France would unite against her.
"So you see, sister, that in my opinion we are at the commencement of a long and bloody90 struggle for freedom of worship; and at any rate it will be good that the boy should be trained as he would have been, had you married one of your own rank in France; in order that, when he comes to man's estate, he may be able to wield91 a sword worthily92 in the defence of the faith.
"Had I sons, I should train them as your husband intends to train Phil. It may be that he will never be called upon to draw a sword, but the time he has spent in acquiring its use will not be wasted. These exercises give firmness and suppleness93 to the figure, quickness to the eye, and briskness94 of decision to the mind. A man who knows that he can, at need, defend his life if attacked, whether against soldiers in the field or robbers in the street, has a sense of power and self reliance that a man, untrained in the use of the strength God has given him, can never feel. I was instructed in arms when a boy, and I am none the worse weaver for it.
"Do not forget, Lucie, that the boy has the blood of many good French families in his veins95; and you should rejoice that your husband is willing that he shall be so trained that, if the need should ever come, he shall do no discredit96 to his ancestors on our side. These English have many virtues97, which I freely recognize; but we cannot deny that many of them are somewhat rough and uncouth98, being wondrous99 lacking in manners and coarse in speech. I am sure that you yourself would not wish your son to grow up like many of the young fellows who come into town on market day. Your son will make no worse a farmer for being trained as a gentleman. You yourself have the training of a French lady, and yet you manage the farm to admiration.
"No, no, Lucie, I trust that between us we shall make a true Christian and a true gentleman of him; and that, if needs be, he will show himself a good soldier, also."
And so, between his French relatives and his sturdy English father, Philip Fletcher had an unusual training. Among the Huguenots he learned to be gentle and courteous100; to bear himself among his elders respectfully, but without fear or shyness; to consider that, while all things were of minor102 consequence in comparison to the right to worship God in freedom and purity, yet that a man should be fearless of death, ready to defend his rights, but with moderation and without pushing them to the injury of others; that he should be grave and decorous of speech, and yet of a gay and cheerful spirit. He strove hard so to deport103 himself that if, at any time, he should return to his mother's country, he could take his place among her relations without discredit. He learned to fence, and to dance.
Some of the stricter of the Huguenots were of opinion that the latter accomplishment104 was unnecessary, if not absolutely sinful; but Gaspard Vaillant was firm on this point.
"Dancing is a stately and graceful105 exercise," he said, "and like the use of arms, it greatly improves the carriage and poise106 of the figure. Queen Elizabeth loves dancing, and none can say that she is not a good Protestant. Every youth should be taught to dance, if only he may know how to walk. I am not one of those who think that, because a man is a good Christian, he should necessarily be awkward and ungainly in speech and manner, adverse107 to innocent gaieties, narrow in his ideas, ill dressed and ill mannered, as I see are many of those most extreme in religious matters, in this country."
Upon the other hand, in the school playground, under the shadow of the grand cathedral, Phil was as English as any; being foremost in their rough sports, and ready for any fun or mischief108.
He fought many battles, principally because the difference of his manner from that of the others often caused him to be called "Frenchy." The epithet109 in itself was not displeasing110 to him; for he was passionately111 attached to his mother, and had learned from her to love her native country; but applied112 in derision it was regarded by him as an insult, and many a tough battle did he fight, until his prowess was so generally acknowledged that the name, though still used, was no longer one of disrespect.
In figure, he took after his French rather than his English ancestors. Of more than average height for his age, he was apparently113 slighter in build than his schoolfellows. It was not that he lacked width of chest, but that his bones were smaller and his frame less heavy. The English boys, among themselves, sometimes spoke of him as "skinny," a word considered specially114 appropriate to Frenchmen; but though he lacked their roundness and fulness of limb, and had not an ounce of superfluous115 flesh about him, he was all sinew and wire; and while in sheer strength he was fully101 their equal, he was incomparably quicker and more active.
Although in figure and carriage he took after his mother's countrymen, his features and expression were wholly English. His hair was light brown, his eyes a bluish gray, his complexion116 fair, and his mouth and eyes alive with fun and merriment. This, however, seldom found vent4 in laughter. His intercourse117 with the grave Huguenots, saddened by their exile, and quiet and restrained in manner, taught him to repress mirth, which would have appeared to them unseemly; and to remain a grave and silent listener to their talk of their unhappy country, and their discussions on religious matters.
To his schoolfellows he was somewhat of an enigma118. There was no more good-tempered young fellow in the school, no one more ready to do a kindness; but they did not understand why, when he was pleased, he smiled while others roared with laughter; why when, in their sports, he exerted himself to the utmost, he did so silently while others shouted; why his words were always few and, when he differed from others, he expressed himself with a courtesy that puzzled them; why he never wrangled119 nor quarrelled; and why any trick played upon an old woman, or a defenceless person, roused him to fury.
As a rule, when boys do not quite understand one of their number they dislike him. Philip Fletcher was an exception. They did not understand him, but they consoled themselves under this by the explanation that he was half a Frenchman, and could not be expected to be like a regular English boy; and they recognized instinctively120 that he was their superior.
Much of Philip's time was spent at the house of his uncle, and among the Huguenot colony. Here also were many boys of his own age. These went to a school of their own, taught by the pastor81 of their own church, who held weekly services in the crypt of the cathedral, which had been granted to them for that purpose by the dean. While, with his English schoolfellows, he joined in sports and games; among these French lads the talk was sober and quiet. Scarce a week passed but some fugitive11, going through Canterbury, brought the latest news of the situation in France, and the sufferings of their co-religionist friends and relations there; and the political events were the chief topics of conversation.
The concessions made at the Conference of Poissy had infuriated the Catholics, and the war was brought on by the Duke of Guise who, passing with a large band of retainers through the town of Vassy in Champagne121, found the Huguenots there worshipping in a barn. His retainers attacked them, slaying122 men, women, and children--some sixty being killed, and a hundred or more left terribly wounded.
The Protestant nobles demanded that Francis of Guise should be punished for this atrocious massacre2, but in vain; and Guise, on entering Paris, in defiance123 of Catharine's prohibition124, was received with royal honours by the populace. The Cardinal of Lorraine, the duke's brother, the duke himself, and their allies, the Constable125 Montmorency and Marshal Saint Andre, assumed so threatening an attitude that Catharine left Paris and went to Melun, her sympathies at this period being with the reformers; by whose aid, alone, she thought that she could maintain her influence in the state against that of the Guises.
Conde was forced to leave Paris with the Protestant nobles, and from all parts of France the Huguenots marched to assist him. Coligny, the greatest of the Huguenot leaders, hesitated; being, above all things, reluctant to plunge126 France into civil war. But the entreaties127 of his noble wife, of his brothers and friends, overpowered his reluctance128. Conde left Meaux, with fifteen hundred horse, with the intention of seizing the person of the young king; but he had been forestalled129 by the Guises, and moved to Orleans, where he took up his headquarters. All over France the Huguenots rose in such numbers as astonished their enemies, and soon became possessed of a great many important cities.
Their leaders had endeavoured, in every way, to impress upon them the necessity of behaving as men who fought only for the right to worship God; and for the most part these injunctions were strictly obeyed. In one matter, alone, the Huguenots could not be restrained. For thirty years the people of their faith had been executed, tortured, and slain130; and their hatred131 of the Romish church manifested itself by the destruction of images and pictures of all kinds, in the churches of the towns of which they obtained possession. Only in the southeast of France was there any exception to the general excellence132 of their conduct. Their persecution here had always been very severe, and in the town of Orange the papal troops committed a massacre almost without a parallel in its atrocity133. The Baron134 of Adrets, on behalf of the Protestants, took revenge by massacres equally atrocious; but while the butchery at Orange was hailed with approbation135 and delight by the Catholic leaders, those promoted by Adrets excited such a storm of indignation, among the Huguenots of all classes, that he shortly afterwards went over to the other side, and was found fighting against the party he had disgraced.
At Toulouse three thousand Huguenots were massacred, and in other towns where the Catholics were in a majority terrible persecutions were carried out.
It was nearly a year after the massacre at Vassy before the two armies met in battle. The Huguenots had suffered greatly, by the delays caused by attempts at negotiations136 and compromise. Conde's army was formed entirely of volunteers, and the nobles and gentry, as their means became exhausted137, were compelled to return home with their retainers; while many were forced to march to their native provinces, to assist their co-religionists there to defend themselves from their Catholic neighbours.
England had entered, to a certain extent, upon the war; Elizabeth, after long vacillation138, having at length agreed to send six thousand men to hold the towns of Havre, Dieppe, and Rouen, providing these three towns were handed over to her; thus evincing the same calculating greed that marked her subsequent dealings with the Dutch, in their struggle for freedom.
In vain Conde and Coligny begged her not to impose conditions that Frenchmen would hold to be infamous139 to them. In vain Throgmorton, her ambassador at Paris, warned her that she would alienate140 the Protestants of France from her; while the possession of the cities would avail her but little. In vain her minister, Cecil, urged her frankly141 to ally herself with the Protestants. From the first outbreak of the war for freedom of conscience in France, to the termination of the struggle in Holland, Elizabeth baffled both friends and enemies by her vacillation and duplicity, and her utter want of faith; doling142 out aid in the spirit of a huckster rather than a queen, so that she was, in the end, even more hated by the Protestants of Holland and France than by the Catholics of France and Spain.
To those who look only at the progress made by England, during the reign143 of Elizabeth--thanks to her great ministers, her valiant144 sailors and soldiers, long years of peace at home, and the spirit and energy of her people--Elizabeth may appear a great monarch145. To those who study her character from her relations with the struggling Protestants of Holland and France, it will appear that she was, although intellectually great, morally one of the meanest, falsest, and most despicable of women.
Rouen, although stoutly defended by the inhabitants, supported by Montgomery with eight hundred soldiers, and five hundred Englishmen under Killegrew of Pendennis, was at last forced to surrender. The terms granted to the garrison146 were basely violated, and many of the Protestants put to death. The King of Navarre, who had, since he joined the Catholic party, shown the greatest zeal147 in their cause, commanded the besiegers. He was wounded in one of the attacks upon the town, and died shortly afterwards.
The two armies finally met, on the 19th of December, 1562. The Catholic party had sixteen thousand foot, two thousand horse, and twenty-two cannon148; the Huguenots four thousand horse, but only eight thousand infantry149 and five cannon. Conde at first broke the Swiss pikemen of the Guises, while Coligny scattered150 the cavalry151 of Constable Montmorency, who was wounded and taken prisoner; but the infantry of the Catholics defeated those of the Huguenots, the troops sent by the German princes to aid the latter behaving with great cowardice152. Conde's horse was killed under him, and he was made prisoner. Coligny drew off the Huguenot cavalry and the remains153 of the infantry in good order, and made his retreat unmolested.
The Huguenots had been worsted in the battle, and the loss of Conde was a serious blow; but on the other hand Marshal Saint Andre was killed, and the Constable Montmorency a prisoner. Coligny was speedily reinforced; and the assassination154 of the Duke of Guise, by an enthusiast155 of the name of Jean Poltrot, more than equalized matters.
Both parties being anxious to treat, terms of peace were arranged; on the condition that the Protestant lords should be reinstated in their honours and possessions; all nobles and gentlemen should be allowed to celebrate, in their own houses, the worship of the reformed religion; that in every bailiwick the Protestants should be allowed to hold their religious services, in the suburbs of one city, and should also be permitted to celebrate it, in one or two places, inside the walls of all the cities they held at the time of the signature of the truce83. This agreement was known as the Treaty of Amboise, and sufficed to secure peace for France, until the latter end of 1567.
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persecution
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| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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stringent
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| adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的 | |
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vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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emigrants
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| n.（从本国移往他国的）移民( emigrant的名词复数 ) | |
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interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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sect
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| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
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atrocities
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| n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪 | |
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9
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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10
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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13
weaver
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| n.织布工；编织者 | |
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looms
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| n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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15
embarking
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| 乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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gentry
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| n.绅士阶级，上层阶级 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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18
hips
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| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
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19
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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22
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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23
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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24
Augmented
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| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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25
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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26
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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27
frugal
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| adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的 | |
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28
industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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29
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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30
dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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31
plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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32
cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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33
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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34
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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35
contentedly
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| adv.心满意足地 | |
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36
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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37
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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38
appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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39
farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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40
demur
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| v．表示异议，反对 | |
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41
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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42
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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43
gatherings
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| 聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集 | |
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44
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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45
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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46
reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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47
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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48
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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49
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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50
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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51
pretensions
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| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
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52
persecuted
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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53
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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55
kinsmen
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| n.家属，亲属( kinsman的名词复数 ) | |
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56
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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57
stoutly
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| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 | |
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58
awry
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| adj.扭曲的，错的 | |
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59
ordinances
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| n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 ) | |
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60
butts
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| 笑柄( butt的名词复数 )； （武器或工具的）粗大的一端； 屁股； 烟蒂 | |
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61
instructor
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| n.指导者，教员，教练 | |
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62
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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63
grudge
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| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
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64
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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65
enlist
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| vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍 | |
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66
dissuade
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| v.劝阻，阻止 | |
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67
honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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68
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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69
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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70
exterminate
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| v.扑灭，消灭，根绝 | |
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71
massacres
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| 大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败 | |
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72
guises
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| n.外观，伪装( guise的名词复数 )v.外观，伪装( guise的第三人称单数 ) | |
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73
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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74
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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75
tolerance
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| n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差 | |
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76
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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77
smitten
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| 猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
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78
extermination
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| n.消灭，根绝 | |
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79
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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80
pastors
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| n.（基督教的）牧师( pastor的名词复数 ) | |
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81
pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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82
cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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83
truce
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| n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束 | |
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84
truces
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| 休战( truce的名词复数 )； 停战（协定）； 停止争辩（的协议）； 中止 | |
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85
concessions
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| n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权 | |
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86
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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87
annihilate
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| v.使无效；毁灭；取消 | |
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88
yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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89
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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90
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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91
wield
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| vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等) | |
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92
worthily
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| 重要地，可敬地，正当地 | |
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93
suppleness
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| 柔软； 灵活； 易弯曲； 顺从 | |
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94
briskness
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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95
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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96
discredit
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| vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑 | |
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97
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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98
uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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99
wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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100
courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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101
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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102
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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103
deport
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| vt.驱逐出境 | |
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104
accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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105
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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106
poise
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| vt./vi. 平衡，保持平衡；n.泰然自若，自信 | |
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107
adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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108
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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109
epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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110
displeasing
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| 不愉快的，令人发火的 | |
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111
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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112
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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113
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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114
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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115
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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116
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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117
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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118
enigma
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| n.谜，谜一样的人或事 | |
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119
wrangled
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| v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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120
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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121
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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122
slaying
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| 杀戮。 | |
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123
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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124
prohibition
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| n.禁止；禁令，禁律 | |
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125
constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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126
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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127
entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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128
reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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129
forestalled
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| v.先发制人，预先阻止( forestall的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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130
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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131
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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132
excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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133
atrocity
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| n.残暴，暴行 | |
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134
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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135
approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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136
negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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137
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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138
vacillation
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| n.动摇；忧柔寡断 | |
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139
infamous
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| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
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140
alienate
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| vt.使疏远，离间；转让(财产等) | |
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141
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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142
doling
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| 救济物( dole的现在分词 )； 失业救济金 | |
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143
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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144
valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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145
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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146
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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147
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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148
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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149
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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150
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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151
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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152
cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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153
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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154
assassination
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| n.暗杀；暗杀事件 | |
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155
enthusiast
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| n.热心人，热衷者 | |
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