Blanche the Huguenot. A tale

Preface

. In the following Tale, the Author has endeavoured to illustrate the influence of an iniquitous State Enactment upon the destinies of an humble and virtuous family. While he has occasionally referred to the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and briefly noticed the national results of that bad and impolitic measure, he has not attempted any history of the transaction itself. The reader must therefore expect to learn little more from this volume than how one of the many thousand home circles, which in 1685 were so rudely broken asunder, fared amid the terrible tempest that then raged around them. In the Appendix, details from authentic sources are given, which, it is presumed, will justify the introduction of certain prominent characters and incidents into the narrative. That the Tale has been written in no sectarian or uncharitable spirit the Author believes will be sufficiently evident.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE PAUL AND HIS MOTHER, .... Engraved Title. BASIL, BLANCHE, AND PAUL, ..... 25 THE DRAGOONS AT THE MARKET PLACE, .... 39 MEETING OF MARGUERITE AND JEAN, . . . .139 THE EMISSARY'S DESPAIR, 154 BASIL'S VISIT 133 " A VERT GOOD SHOT, LOUIS," 210 " HAND IN HAND," 231 's

Chapter I

It was a clear frosty forenoon hi the year 1683 ; and a group of boys were playing merrily in the market-place of Nismes. They had just escaped from school, and were conducting their recreation in the jovial and boisterous manner which, probably from the beginning of the world, has characterised the amusements of young people. The main street of the ancient town was but little encumbered by carriages of any description, and the passengers were few in number, and did not seem at all annoyed by the games of leap-frog, bah, wrestling, and jumping that were proceeding so briskly. If any momentary cessation of the sports took place, it was when one of the magistrates of the city passed by, with his grave important step and gown of office; or when a Romish priest appeared, bustling along with consequential air.

In either of these cases, the youthful roisterers desisted for a moment from their play, and respectfully uncovered their heads ; but no sooner had the magnate gone out of reach of the missiles that were flying about, than the games recom menced with as much vigour as before. Now it happened that one of the balls with which the boys were playing, after being thrown to a great height in the air by a lad of eleven or twelve years of age, instead of descending perpen dicularly as he expected it to do, alighted on the roof of a bouse, and there remained, lost among the many chimneys with wliich B the building was garnished. The thrower gazed anxiously at the spot where it had disappeared; for the ball happened to belong to a very ill-natured boy, considerably older than himself. He was not allowed to pursue his reflections very long, however, as the owner of the lost property came running rapidly towards him.

For a moment the defaulter attempted to deprecate the wrath which he saw in the other's countenance : — " I couldn't help it, Basil," he said ; " I think the wind carried it aside. I shall have money to-morrow, and I shah buy you a new ball." " And how will that help us to continue our game to-day, you Huguenot rascal ?" demanded Bass-il ; " but you shall not do it for nothing, that I'm resolved on." And so saying, hc commenced a furious attack with his fists on the offender. Paul Lingard, for that was the name of the latter, defended himself as weh as he could, till tbe other boys came crowding round, most of them ignorant of the merits of the case, but instigated by the love of fair play which few young persons are devoid of, to protect the oppressed. One ofthe new comers, a stout youth of fifteen, pushed unceremoniously between the combatants and dealt Bash a blow in the face, which bad tbe immediate effect of cooling his anger.

" Do you think, Monsieur de Baville," said the assailant, " that because your father is a great lord and Intendant of Languedoc, and you live here with a haughty priest, you are to beat us all without resistance, as you are accustomed to do your page at home ? Oh no ! fair play, sir, if you please. What has Paul Lingard done to deserve this thrashing?" " He has thrown away my ball, and he is a rascally Huguenot," was tlie reply. " I coidd not help losing tho ball ; I will pay for it to morrow: and he lies when he says I am a Huguenot," exclaimed Paul ; " I go to mass and to confession, too, as often as he does himself." " Well, your uncle is one, if you are not," said De Baville. " I know for certain that Jean Bruman has become a Huguenot, and that he is a fohower of the traitor Claude Brousson ; and more than that, I know that they will be hunted down and caught ; and my father shall have them hanged as they deserve.

And you, Oscar Durand, I shah teach you some day to repent having struck a nobleman." "As for that," rephed Oscar," it must be with your sword then. I am of as good blood as yourself, although my father does not hunt Huguenots. But is it true, my dear Paid," continued he, drawing Ms young companion away from the crowd — " Is it true that your mother's brother has joined those wretched people, who seem doomed to destruction ? " " I do not beheve a word of it," replied Paid ; " it is, I dare say, a he of De Bavihe's ; but" — here he stopped suddenly, as if a painful thought flashed across his mind, and then resumed less confidently, " I shah ask my mother." " Do so," said Durand ; " and keep out of that Bash's way. I think he does not hke you ; but if he lift his hand again, let me know immediately.

It shah not be lus father's intendantship of the province that shah protect him from a good drubbing, come what may." The boys were now in front of Paul's dwelling, and parted with those kindly feelings on both sides which their mutual positions in the recent fray naturally produced on two generous minds. On entering the house, Paul Lhigard found his mother and twin-sister busily engaged in preparing dinner. His father, a wealthy cooper, was among his workmen, in the cooperage hard by. He was expected, however, to return immediately; and mother and daughter seemed anxious to have everything connected with the arrangement of domestic matters in the best possible state before his arrival. B Madame Lingard was a woman of thirty-two or thirty-three years of age. In person she was handsome ; and her dear blue eyes spoke of a mind artless and pure as that of a babe.

Her form was erect, her dress neat and exact, and her demeanour firm and gentle. Her marriage had not been without its sorrows; for Antoine Lingard, though he was supposed to love her very well, was a man of violent passions, and often exacting and the reverse of kind and reasonable in his conduct. But, in her two children, Madame Lingard found a source of unalloyed delight. Paul was a right-hearted, affectionate, and manly boy ; while his sister Blanche was at once beautiful and good. Descended on her mother's side from an Alsacian family, she inherited the fair complexion, soft eyes, and faultless features which often distinguish the natives of the Franco-German Provinces, without the defect of listlessness or want of animation by which they are sometimes accompanied. Blanche's countenance was replete with expression, her disposition was lively and kind, and her person was light and graceful.

She delighted to assist her mother in household occupations, and in the acts of charity which the good dame performed towards the poor. The heart of many a sick labourer. of many a widow and fatherless child beat with pleasure when the active foot-step and soothing voices of the mother and daughter approached their sorrowful dwellings ; for their bounty was so naturally and kindly bestowed, as to give it a double value. " Ah !" the poor people would exclaim, " what angels are Madame and Mademoiselle Lingard ! Others sometimes give us clothes and bread in bad times, and medicine in sickness ; but they — they bring hope and comfort into our very hearts, and their presence seems to light up the darkest room they ever enter. Cod bless them and preserve them from all trouble and trial." For wise purposes the Almighty sometimes suffers such prayers to remain unanswered, even when offered up for the best of His children — at least as far as this life is concerned.

We shall see, by and by, whether they were granted as regarded Madame Lingard and her daughter Blanche. " Mamma," exclaimed Paul, as he entered the parlour, " is it true that Uncle Jean has become a Huguenot, and that he has joined the traitor Brousson?" _Madame Lingard turned round and paused for a moment, ere she replied : " Who has told you that, my boy ? " " Oh, I heard it to-day from the young Chevalier de Baville, and he says he knows it for certain ; but I told him he lied, for I am sure my uncle would never dishonour liimself by doing such a thing." "I have heard nothing of it," said the mother ; "it may be true or untrue; but, Paul, do not say a word on the subject in your father's presence." " Weh, but mamma, you surely don't imagine for a moment that the thing is possible. Has not Uncle Jean been in his youth a brave soldier of our king, who hates the Huguenots ?

And did he not fight with, and kill too, another soldier who said we ought not to pray to the Blessed Virgin ? (here Paul looked at a picture of the virgin which hung above the fireplace, and crossed himself devoutly) — and did not his captain make him a sergeant imme diately, and give him a handsome sword, which I am to have when I am older ? " " Paul," interrupted Blanche, who had been a shent hstener to this conversation between her mother and brother, and who now saw, with the quick eye of affection, that the boy was tread ing upon tender ground — " Paul, do not speak any more about Uncle Jean for the present ; but tell us what you have been about yourself; for your face is swollen, and your clothes are in disorder. You have not been fighting, I hope — what has happened ? " " Nothing but a piece of tyranny of De Baville.

I lost his ball by accident, and he attacked me, and would have beaten me well, but for Oscar Durand, who came forward and very soon settled him. He's a brave fellow, Oscar ! It was just after he gave De Baville a slapping blow in the face, and made him quit me, that De Baville told all the boys that our Uncle Jean was a Huguenot." Paul had no time to continue, for his father at that moment appeared. Antoine Lingard was a tah man of forty ; with handsome but stern features, and a resolute and prompt manner. Although just in his deahngs, he was more feared than loved by those who depended on him ; and it was said that, but for the dowry, handsome for a maiden of her class, his wife had brought him, that good woman would often have been hindered in her deeds of Christian charity. Harsh as Lingard was, however, he felt pride in the circumstance that his wife and daughter were the idols of the surrounding poor ; and he hked to observe the respectful manner in which the numerous objects of their bounty saluted them when they went out of doors.

He was a bigoted papist, and jealous of the influence of Madame Lingard with liis children ; for he suspected her of a leaning to the reformed faith. On the present occasion Lingard was more than usually serious ; and when the meal was ended, being desirous of con versing freely with bis wife, he despatched the servants abroad on various errands, and entrusted Paul and Blanche with a message to a distant part of the town, giving them permission to continue their walk afterwards, for half an hour. As soon as they were gone, he closed the door, and then resumed his seat.

Chapter II

" I THLVKlsee by your looks, Marguerite," saidAntomeLingard, " that you have heard something of what has happened — I mean with regard to your brother Jean. Nay, do not interrupt me, I have a good deal to say to you, and wih make an end of it now. We have been living too long in a state of half-confidence." " I do not wish to interrupt you, my dear Antoine," replied Madame Lingard mildly ; " I have heard the report about poor Jean, and pray Heaven he may be guided aright in all his doings." "But do you know the particulars of his recent conduct ?" demanded Lingard. "No," said his wife, "only that he is said to have joined Claude Brousson, the brave young lawyer who so generously defended the proscribed churches of Languedoc iu the Toulouse Parliament, and upon whose head a price has been set by the government.

Oh, that our king and clergy would see that people are not to be turned to God or to the Church by the infliction of such cruelties ! " " Now, by ah that is good," exclaimed Antoine, " I beheve I shah shortly have a heretic wife and a heretic family ! I have remarked, Marguerite, your own coldness of late, towards the forms and ceremonies of our holy religion ; and the Abbe Crouzet has oftener than once warned me that your heart is more with the seditious Huguenots than with your brethren of the true faith. But, do not deceive yourself; if you are led away by these wretches you share their fate. / shall never swerve from the religion in which I have been brought up ; and I shah consider ah who do so, be they of my own household or not, as strangers and outcasts, traitors ahke to their God and to their king."

A sigh was the only reply made by the quiet listener to this emphatic denunciation, and the husband resumed, in a less angry tone : "You have spoken ofthe defence of the Reformed Churches by the lawyer Brousson. It is true he did defend them in the i'arliament of Toulouse — and, as you say, with courage, or at least with obstinacy and audacity. These churches are nests of heretics and of rebels — of men who teach and practise contempt towards their king, and towards the ancient religion of their native land. I do not examine nor care about the particular details of the charges against them : that the highest secular and ecclesiastical authorities of the country have condemned them, is enough for me. Well, this Brousson steps in ; he defends openly, and day after day, fourteen of these conventicle pest-houses ; and in the end, by legal quibbles, and by confusing or intimidating the dotards of judges, he actually gains his point ; and, while hundreds of other chapels are razed to the ground, these fourteen still remain, monuments of his persevering insolence, aud of the incapacity and weakness of the Parliament of Toidousc !

" " And are you angry, then, Antoine," asked Marguerite in an entreating tone, " are you angry that this poor remnant of so many humble temples, erected by sincere people for the worship of their God, is still left to shelter the unfortunate Protestants? Oh, are our brethren to have no refuge, uo shelter for theh heads ? If earth casts them off, and throws them from her bosom, ought we not to fear that heaven sliould interpose to avenge those who have no other portion left them than that within the vail ? Aud Brousson, brave sphit! has be really accomplished all this for the poor outcast lambs of Christ's flock ? I think I see him, standing with chcrub-sword, in their defence ! And thou too, poor Jean simple and rash as thou art, thou partakest the honour and danger of the glorious enterprize, and may yet participate in its reward !

" Marguerite had risen as she spoke ; her natural quietness and timidity were gone ; and she stood before the astonished Antoine with the air and gesture which we may suppose to have distin guished a prophetess of old, when earth was forgotten, and the spirit was rapt up to heaven. Her fine form appeared to dilate ; her arm was stretched forth, and in her eye a martyr's heroism flashed through a woman's tears. It was a minute or two ere she seemed to remember where she was ; and then with a subdued voice she desired her husband to proceed with his story. He did so, and without blaming his wife's enthusiasm ; for, hardened and bigoted as he was, he felt that he was in the presence of one, the fire witliin whose bosom was kindled at a purer source than was any that ever warmed Ids own devotion ; and he found himself in the position of a man, who, coming to reprove and rebuke another, is himself suddenly and justly reproved and rebuked.

The following is the concluding portion of what he had to relate. After the advantage so unexpectedly gained by the young Toulouse advocate (who was a native of Nismes, although he bad not visited that place for several years), Brousson had, it seems, concerted with the Protestant Ministers, whose chapels all over the south and west of France had been recently demolished, a scheme which, it was expected, would bring before tbe pubhc eye, in a forcible manner the wicked and unreasonable character of the persecution to which the members of the Reformed Churches were at that time exposed. This plan was no other than that the ministers and their various flocks should hold meetings for the worship of God, each congregation amid the ruins of its desecrated and demolished church ; and that the first of these assemblies shoidd take place simultaneously on a particular day, in Poitou, Guienne, Languedoc, Cevennes, Vivarets, and Dauphiny.

Jean Bruman, resident at Toulouse, a new and zealous convert, was employed by Brousson to travel through the country with the view of organising the assemblies; but the lawyer had not had sufficient acquaintance with the character of his emissary. Bruman was a rash and inconsiderate man ; and now, notwithstanding his sincere piety, he became the occasion of a terrible calamity to the churches he desired to benefit. Accustomed, in his former profession, to the use of arms, and conscious of the justice, and even holiness, ofthe cause in which he was embarked, he recommended the various congregations he was visiting, to provide themselves with weapons for the purpose of repelling any attack that might be made upon them. Many of the wiser and older of the pastors and members of the oppressed churches saw the danger into which a compliance with this counsel was hkely to lead them.

But there were spirits among them that wanted but a spark in order to blaze forth. Bruman was the accrechted agent of Claude Brousson, whom they regarded as their apostle and defender ; and although the advocate's own letters spoke of no such carnal preparations, his messenger's words had fatal weight among men who had suffered severely in their own persons from their papist fellow-countrymen, or had seen theh dearest friends tortured and slain by the executioner. Swords and pistuls were therefore brought to the meeting ; and the government, being informed of the circumstance, desiring nothing better than such an excuse for their cruelty, ordered the unfortunate congregations to be attacked and butchered by regiments of soldiers. It was in vain that, in some cases, resistance was offered, and that in others the worshippers showed to their murderers that they were utterly unarmed.

Men, women and children, were cut down and slaughtered ; and the scaffold also soon reeked with innocent blood. A general sentence was pronounced on all wbo had taken up arms. The ministers were doomed to die, as were also the leaders belonging to the laity, while heavy fines and long imprisonments were to be the lot of any others who had been even remotely concerned in the so called treasonable and seditious assembbes. Claude Brousson, who heard with grief of the imprudence of his agent when it was too late to prevent its evil consequences, had hitherto escaped the pursuit of his enemies, and Bruman had been equally fortunate. Such was the sad tale related by the cooper of Nismes to his wife. Marguerite wept bitterly as she learned the fatal results of her brother's rashness. "Poor Jean!" she repeated, "how unhappy, how broken hearted he must now be !

God forgive and comfort him ! He did it for the best. From his youth his heart was better than his head. And after all his blunders and errors, no child could be gentler than he, when he had had time for reflection. May this bitter lesson be blest to him, and may the termination of his afflictions be peace and glory ! " Antoine Lingard now sank into deep and serious musing. It was evident, without any further questioning, that his wife was, if not formally, at least virtually and in heart, a member of the proscribed church. A thousand circumstances which had marked her conduct within the last two years rushed into his mind confirmatory of that supposition. Her sincere and un doubted piety, notwithstanding her neglect of the duties deemed incumbent on a devout Roman Cathohc ; her evident indifference, if not dislike, to the admonitions of the Abbe Crouzet, the cure of the parish ; the kindness with which she uniformly spoke of the persecuted Huguenots, and ministered to their wants and necessities ; her frequent perusal of a copy of the holy Scriptures which she had obtained, and delighted to read ; an indescribable change that had lately come over her, and that affected her every day conduct and conversation ; and, latterly, the tone in which she had spoken during this very conversation, — all told but too clearly that her heart had received some great religious impulse, and that that impulse was not ascribable to the ancient faith or to its ministers.

What was her husband to do ? To ask her a plain question on the subject was, he saw clearly enough, to receive a decided reply, which should extinguish any lingering spark of hope that yet remained in his mind. All the good and kind quahties of his Marguerite now presented themselves forcibly before him, as he seemed about to lose her for ever ; and the harsh, strong nerved man felt the tears steahng down his cheek. Marguerite saw them, and coming to his side, took him in her arms, kissing him as in the days of their early love, while she exclaimed, "Oh, Antoine, fear nothing : there is a protecting Father in heaven, who will suffer no evil to befal us if we walk in his ways. But harden not your heart, dear Antoine ! harden not your heart ! You have often, long ago, told me I was a good wife to you : I will be a greater blessing to you, Antoine, than you ever expected, or than I ever hoped, — only fight not against God, my husband."

Antoine Lingard made no reply to her passionate expostula tions, but looked sadly at her, lost in painful thought. BLANCHE TIIE HUGUENOT. CHAPTER HI. We must now quit for a while tbe cooper of Nismes and his wife, and accompany their children, Paul and Blanche, on their walk. It was about two o'clock when they quitted their father's door, and after executing the commission with which they were entrusted, they turned their faces westward, and proceeded through the streets, towards one of the city gates. Many an eye observed them, as they passed along, and many an humble heart blessed them. Poor old men and women, standing at their doors enjoying thc winter sunshine, smiled and nodded with friendly recognition. Now and then Blanche would ask one of them how he was, or would run for a moment into a cottage to cheer some sick child.

At length they had threaded all the streets through which their path lay, and arrived at the city wall, with its old-fashioned battlemented arch and guard house ; in another moment they were on the highway leading to Toulouse. This was a favourite walk with them. Trees, gardens, and pretty cottages appeared on either side, and more attention had been paid to making the road pleasant and comfortable than was usual in those comparatively rude days. They now moved merrily along, sometimes walking on the clear, hard, frozen foot path, sometimes sliding where they found a streak of ice, or falling into a slower pace when an interesting subject of con versation presented itself. Although both were intelligent, Blanche's mind was more fully developed than that of her brother ; a circumstance to which her being so constantly in her mother's society, and treated by her as a companion, had in some degree contributed.

Hence it was that in theh walks and sports Blanche assumed, naturally and without intending it, the character of an elder sister ; and Paul, while he seldom needed to advise his gentle companion on any subject, received her counsels with deference, and acted on them with confidence. Blanche was, besides, naturally the more serious of the two ; and her brother felt an involuntary respect for the superior piety and wisdom of her character ; but while theh respective positions were as just described, the idea of authority on the one part or submission on the other probably never entered theh thoughts. " Look, Blanche ! " exclaimed Paul, suddenly catching his sister by the arm, and at the same time pointing with his finger along the road : " What is that, glittering and glancing in the sun, far away yonder ?

Oh, how beautifully it flashes ! Just hke lightning — only more frequent, and not so terrible." Blanche looked forward, and saw the appearance that Paul had described, but was as unable as he to account for it. It still continued, however ; but, by-and-by, it was accompanied by a trampling sound, and Paul, listening attentively, cried out in great delight, " Blanche, it is soldiers ! Cavalry ! a regiment, or perhaps a whole army, for I hear their trampling now hke thunder. Let us run forward and meet them ! " " No, Paul," said Blanche, "I would rather not proceed any farther. I don't hke to look at these bloody men, who have done so much harm lately to the poor Huguenots. Let us go back, my dear brother ; they wih overtake us, and we shall then see them. Besides, it grows dark suddenly at this time of the year, and we should not go farther from home."

Paul would fain have remonstrated, but be knew Blanche to be in the right, and did not wish to grieve her ; so thev retraced their footsteps, the boy every minute turning his head to catch a glimpse of the approaching cavalry. As the roads were dan gerous on account of the frost, the horsemen did not ride very rapidly ; and people began to come flocking out of Nismes, especially the young and the idle, having heardof the troops being in sight, and the highway became gradually more and more thronged. Paul had stopped to talk with some of lus school companions, who were hurrying forward to meet the cavalry, when Blanche, as she was waiting for him, remarked young De Baville, handsomely dressed, and mounted on a Spanish pony, trot past, evidently with the same object. His air was proud and lofty, he wore a sword as a mark of nobility, and was accompanied by the priest his guardian, and followed by a valet.

Blanche, remembering the forenoon's quarrel, was glad that De Baville and her brother had not observed each other, and as the road was now very much encumbered with passengers, and the dragoons were close at hand, she hurried Paul along, and they re-entered the city gate. Here, however, they were obhged to halt ; for thev found themselves caught in a sort of eddy, formed by the crowd advancing towards the gate from within the city, and that returning with the soldiers from without. Thc young Lingards, therefore, took up the best position they could find, which happened to be on a low flight of steps, in front of the closed door of a house. Thus elevated, they were tolerably free from pressure, and would be able to observe the dragoons as they passed. And now, amid loud shouts of the populace, with clatter of hoof and jingling of steel, there appeared in the streets of Nismes, a regiment notorious for the atrocity of its cruelty towards the Protestants.

Forward, in ah the bravery of military pomp, came these base men, who had hewn down helpless women and children, scoffed at the martyr on the scaffold, and derided his last agonies. Their colonel was at their head, and beside him cantered, in the fuh flush of youthful conceit, the elated Basil de Baville. Tho boy was in high spirits, talking to the officer, and pointing to the rear of the soldiers, as if referring to some object of interest there. The eyes of Blanche turned also to that quarter, and she beheld a sight fitted to move any heart not hardened against the commonest feelings of humanity. Surrounded by a group of soldiers, wbo were inhumanly pushing, jostling, and taunting them, rode two prisoners, one of them apparently in extreme old age, while the other could scarcely be said to have attained manhood.