Saint Bartholomews Eve

Saint Bartholomew's Eve, by G.
A. Henty

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Title: Saint Bartholomew's Eve A Tale of the Huguenot WarS
Author: G. A. Henty
Illustrator: H. J. Draper
Release Date: December 12, 2006 [EBook #20092]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SAINT
BARTHOLOMEW'S EVE ***

Produced by Martin Robb

Saint Bartholomew's Eve: A Tale of the Huguenot Wars By G. A.
Henty.

Illustrated by H. J. Draper.
Contents
Preface.
Chapter 1
: Driven From Home.
Chapter 2
: An Important Decision.
Chapter 3
: In A French Chateau.
Chapter 4
: An Experiment.
Chapter 5
: Taking The Field.
Chapter 6
: The Battle Of Saint Denis.
Chapter 7
: A Rescue.
Chapter 8
: The Third Huguenot War.

Chapter 9
: An Important Mission.
Chapter 10
: The Queen Of Navarre.
Chapter 11
: Jeanne Of Navarre.
Chapter 12
: An Escape From Prison.
Chapter 13
: At Laville.
Chapter 14
: The Assault On The Chateau.
Chapter 15
: The Battle Of Jarnac.
Chapter 16
: A Huguenot Prayer Meeting.
Chapter 17
: The Battle Of Moncontor.
Chapter 18

: A Visit Home.
Chapter 19
: In A Net.
Chapter 20
: The Tocsin.
Chapter 21
: Escape.
Chapter 22
: Reunited.
Illustrations
Map of France in 1570. Gaspard Vaillant makes a proposal. Philip and
Francoise in the armoury. Philip gets his first look at Pierre. "If you
move a step, you are a dead man." Philip and his followers embarking.
Philip in prison. Philip struck him full in the face. Pierre listens at the
open window of the inn. Gaspard Vaillant gets a surprise. "You have
not heard the news, Monsieur Philip?" "That cross is placed there by
design." Philip, Claire and Pierre disguise themselves.
[Illustration: Map of France in 1570.]

Preface.
It is difficult, in these days of religious toleration, to understand why
men should, three centuries ago, have flown at each others' throats in
the name of the Almighty; still less how, in cold blood, they could have
perpetrated hideous massacres of men, women, and children. The

Huguenot wars were, however, as much political as religious. Philip of
Spain, at that time the most powerful potentate of Europe, desired to
add France to the countries where his influence was all powerful; and
in the ambitious house of Guise he found ready instruments.
For a time the new faith, that had spread with such rapidity in Germany,
England, and Holland, made great progress in France, also. But here the
reigning family remained Catholic, and the vigorous measures they
adopted, to check the growing tide, drove those of the new religion to
take up arms in self defence. Although, under the circumstances, the
Protestants can hardly be blamed for so doing, there can be little doubt
that the first Huguenot war, though the revolt was successful, was the
means of France remaining a Catholic country. It gave colour to the
assertions of the Guises and their friends that the movement was a
political one, and that the Protestants intended to grasp all power, and
to overthrow the throne of France. It also afforded an excuse for the
cruel persecutions which followed, and rallied to the Catholic cause
numbers of those who were, at heart, indifferent to the question of
religion, but were Royalists rather than Catholics.
The great organization of the Church of Rome laboured among all
classes for the destruction of the growing heresy. Every pulpit in
France resounded with denunciations of the Huguenots, and passionate
appeals were made to the bigotry and fanaticism of the more ignorant
classes; so that, while the power of the Huguenots lay in some of the
country districts, the mobs of the great towns were everywhere the
instruments of the priests.
I have not considered it necessary to devote any large portion of my
story to details of the terrible massacres of the period, nor to the
atrocious persecutions to which the Huguenots were subjected; but
have, as usual, gone to the military events of the struggle for its chief
interest. For the particulars of these, I have relied chiefly upon the
collection of works of contemporary authors published by Monsieur
Zeller, of Paris; the Memoirs of Francois de la Noue, and other French
authorities.
G. A. Henty.

Chapter 1
: Driven From Home.
In the year 1567 there were few towns in the southern counties of
England that did not contain a colony, more or less large, of French
Protestants.