Saint Bartholomew\'s Eve

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"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 courteous; to bear himself among his
elders respectfully, but without fear or shyness; to consider that,
while all things were of minor 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 deport 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 accomplishment was unnecessary, if not absolutely sinful;
but Gaspard Vaillant was firm on this point.

"Dancing is a stately and graceful exercise," he said, "and like
the use of arms, it greatly improves the carriage and poise 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, adverse 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 mischief.

He fought many battles, principally because the difference of his
manner from that of the others often caused him to be called
"Frenchy." The epithet in itself was not displeasing to him; for he
was passionately attached to his mother, and had learned from her
to love her native country; but applied 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
apparently 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 specially appropriate
to Frenchmen; but though he lacked their roundness and fulness of
limb, and had not an ounce of superfluous flesh about him, he was
all sinew and wire; and while in sheer strength he was fully 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 complexion fair,
and his mouth and eyes alive with fun and merriment. This, however,
seldom found vent in laughter. His intercourse 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 enigma. 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 wrangled 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 instinctively
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 pastor 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 fugitive, 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
Champagne, found the Huguenots there worshipping in a barn. His
retainers attacked them, slaying 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 massacre, but in vain; and Guise, on
entering Paris, in defiance of Catharine's prohibition, was
received with royal honours by the populace. The Cardinal of
Lorraine, the duke's brother, the duke himself, and their allies,
the Constable 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 plunge France into civil war. But
the entreaties of his noble wife, of his brothers and friends,
overpowered his reluctance. Conde left Meaux, with fifteen hundred
horse, with the intention of seizing the person of the young king;
but he had been forestalled 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 slain; and their hatred 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 excellence 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
atrocity. The Baron of Adrets, on behalf of the Protestants, took
revenge by massacres equally atrocious; but while the butchery at
Orange was hailed with approbation 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 negotiations and compromise. Conde's
army was formed entirely of volunteers, and the nobles and gentry,
as their means became exhausted, 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 vacillation, 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 infamous to them. In vain Throgmorton,
her ambassador at Paris, warned her that she would alienate the
Protestants of France from her; while the possession of the cities
would avail her but little. In vain her minister, Cecil, urged her
frankly 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; doling 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
reign of Elizabeth--thanks to her great ministers, her valiant
sailors and soldiers, long years of peace at home, and the spirit
and energy of her people--Elizabeth may appear a great monarch. 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 garrison 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 zeal 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 cannon; the Huguenots four thousand horse, but only
eight thousand infantry and five cannon. Conde at first broke the
Swiss pikemen of the Guises, while Coligny scattered the cavalry 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 cowardice. Conde's horse was killed under him, and he was
made prisoner. Coligny drew off the Huguenot cavalry and the
remains 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 assassination of the Duke of Guise, by
an enthusiast 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 truce. This agreement was known as the Treaty
of Amboise, and sufficed to secure peace for France, until the
latter end of 1567.

Chapter 2: An Important Decision.

One day in June, 1567, Gaspard Vaillant and his wife went up to
Fletcher's farm.

"I have come up to have a serious talk with you, John, about
Philip. You see, in a few months he will be sixteen. He is already
taller than I am. Rene and Gustave both tell me that they have
taught him all they know with sword and dagger; and both have been
stout men-at-arms in their time, and assure me that the lad could
hold his own against any young French noble of his own age, and
against not a few men. It is time that we came to some conclusion
about his future."

[Illustration: Gaspard Vaillant makes a proposal.]

"I have thought of it much, Gaspard. Lying here so helpless, my
thoughts do naturally turn to him. The boy has grown almost beyond
my power of understanding. Sometimes, when I hear him laughing and
jesting with the men, or with some of his school friends whom he
brings up here, it seems to me that I see myself again in him; and
that he is a merry young fellow, full of life and fun, and able to
hold his own at singlestick, or to foot it round the maypole with
any lad in Kent of his age. Then again, when he is talking with his
mother, or giving directions in her name to the French labourers, I
see a different lad, altogether: grave and quiet, with a gentle,
courteous way, fit for a young noble ten years his senior. I don't
know but that between us, Gaspard, we have made a mess of it; and
that it might have been better for him to have grown up altogether
as I was, with no thought or care save the management of his farm,
with a liking for sport and fun, when such came in his way."

"Not at all, not at all," Gaspard Vaillant broke in hastily, "we
have made a fine man of him, John; and it seems to me that he
possesses the best qualities of both our races. He is frank and
hearty, full of life and spirits when, as you say, occasion offers;
giving his whole heart either to work or play, with plenty of
determination, and what you English call backbone. There is, in
fact, a solid English foundation to his character. Then from our
side he has gained the gravity of demeanour that belongs to us
Huguenots; with the courtesy of manner, the carriage and bearing of
a young Frenchman of good blood. Above all, John, he is a sober
Christian, strong in the reformed faith, and with a burning hatred
against its persecutors, be they French or Spanish.

"Well then, being what he is, what is to be done with him? In the
first place, are you bent upon his remaining here? I think that,
with his qualities and disposition, it would be well that for a
while he had a wider scope. Lucie has managed the farm for the last
fifteen years, and can well continue to do so for another ten, if
God should spare her; and my own opinion is that, for that time, he
might be left to try his strength, and to devote to the good cause
the talents God has given him, and the skill and training that he
has acquired through us; and that it would be for his good to make
the acquaintance of his French kinsfolk, and to see something of
the world."

"I know that is Lucie's wish, also, Gaspard; and I have frequently
turned the matter over in my mind, and have concluded that, should
it be your wish also, it would be well for me to throw no
objections in the way. I shall miss the boy sorely; but young birds
cannot be kept always in the nest, and I think that the lad has
such good stuff in him that it were a pity to keep him shut up
here."

"Now, John," his brother-in-law went on, "although I may never have
said quite as much before, I have said enough for you to know what
my intentions are. God has not been pleased to bestow children upon
us; and Philip is our nearest relation, and stands to us almost in
the light of a son. God has blest my work for the last twenty
years, and though I have done, I hope, fully my share towards
assisting my countrymen in distress, putting by always one-third of
my income for that purpose, I am a rich man. The factory has grown
larger and larger; not because we desired greater gains, but that I
might give employment to more and more of my countrymen. Since the
death of Lequoc, twelve years ago, it has been entirely in my hands
and, living quietly as we have done, a greater portion of the
profits have been laid by every year; therefore, putting out of
account the money that my good sister has laid by, Philip will
start in life not ill equipped.

"I know that the lad has said nothing of any wishes he may
entertain--at his age it would not be becoming for him to do so,
until his elders speak--but of late, when we have read to him
letters from our friends in France, or when he has listened to the
tales of those freshly arrived from their ruined homes, I have
noted that his colour rose; that his fingers tightened, as if on a
sword; and could see how passionately he was longing to join those
who were struggling against their cruel oppressors. Not less
interested has he been in the noble struggle that the Dutch are
making against the Spaniards; a struggle in which many of our
exiled countrymen are sharing.

"One of his mother's cousins, the Count de La Noue, is, as you
know, prominent among the Huguenot leaders; and others of our
relatives are ranged on the same side. At present there is a truce,
but both parties feel that it is a hollow one; nevertheless it
offers a good opportunity for him to visit his mother's family.
Whether there is any prospect of our ever recovering the lands
which were confiscated on our flight is uncertain. Should the
Huguenots ever maintain their ground, and win freedom of worship in
France, it may be that the confiscated estates will in many cases
be restored; as to that, however, I am perfectly indifferent. Were
I a younger man, I should close my factory, return to France, and
bear my share in the defence of the faith. As it is, I should like
to send Philip over as my substitute.

"It would, at any rate, be well that he should make the
acquaintance of his kinsfolk in France; although even I should not
wish that he should cease to regard England as his native country
and home. Hundreds of young men, many no older than himself, are in
Holland fighting against the persecutors; and risking their lives,
though having no kinship with the Dutch, impelled simply by their
love of the faith and their hatred of persecution.

"I have lately, John, though the matter has been kept quiet,
purchased the farms of Blunt and Mardyke, your neighbours on either
hand. Both are nearly twice the size of your own. I have arranged
with the men that, for the present, they shall continue to work
them as my tenants, as they were before the tenants of Sir James
Holford; who, having wasted his money at court, has been forced to
sell a portion of his estates. Thus, some day Phil will come into
possession of land which will place him in a good position, and I
am prepared to add to it considerably. Sir James Holford still
gambles away his possessions; and I have explained, to his notary,
my willingness to extend my purchases at any time, should he desire
to sell. I should at once commence the building of a comfortable
mansion, but it is scarce worth while to do so; for it is probable
that, before many years, Sir James may be driven to part with his
Hall, as well as his land. In the meantime I am ready to provide
Philip with an income which will enable him to take his place with
credit among our kinsfolk, and to raise a company of some fifty men
to follow him in the field, should Conde and the Huguenots again be
driven to struggle against the Guises.

"What do you think?"

"I think, in the first place, that Lucie and I should be indeed
grateful to you, Gaspard, for your generous offer. As to his going
to France, that I must talk over with his mother; whose wishes in
this, as in all respects, are paramount with me. But I may say at
once that, lying here as I do, thinking of the horrible cruelties
and oppressions to which men and women are subjected for the
faith's sake in France and Holland, I feel that we, who are happily
able to worship in peace and quiet, ought to hesitate at no
sacrifice on their behalf; and moreover, seeing that, owing to my
affliction, he owes what he is rather to his mother and you than to
me, I think your wish that he should make the acquaintance of his
kinsfolk in France is a natural one. I have no wish for the lad to
become a courtier, English or French; nor that he should, as
Englishmen have done before now in foreign armies, gain great
honour and reputation; but if it is his wish to fight on behalf of
the persecuted people of God, whether in France or in Holland, he
will do so with my heartiest goodwill; and if he die, he could not
die in a more glorious cause.

"Let us talk of other matters now, Gaspard. This is one that needs
thought before more words are spoken."

Two days later, John Fletcher had a long talk with Phil. The latter
was delighted when he heard the project, which was greatly in
accord with both sides of his character. As an English lad, he
looked forward eagerly to adventure and peril; as French and of the
reformed religion, he was rejoiced at the thought of fighting with
the Huguenots against their persecutors, and of serving under the
men with whose names and reputations he was so familiar.

"I do not know your uncle's plans for you, as yet, Phil," his
father said. "He went not into such matters, leaving these to be
talked over after it had been settled whether his offer should be
accepted or not. He purposes well by you, and regards you as his
heir. He has already bought Blunt and Mardyke's farms, and purposes
to buy other parts of the estates of Sir James Holford, as they may
slip through the knight's fingers at the gambling table. Therefore,
in time, you will become a person of standing in the county; and
although I care little for these things now, Phil, yet I should
like you to be somewhat more than a mere squire; and if you serve
for a while under such great captains as Coligny and Conde, it will
give you reputation and weight.

"Your good uncle and his friends think little of such matters, but
I own that I am not uninfluenced by them. Coligny, for example, is
a man whom all honour; and that honour is not altogether because he
is leader of the reformed faith, but because he is a great soldier.
I do not think that honour and reputation are to be despised.
Doubtless the first thing of all is that a man should be a good
Christian. But that will in no way prevent him from being a great
man; nay, it will add to his greatness.

"You have noble kinsfolk in France, to some of whom your uncle will
doubtless commit you; and it may be that you will have opportunities
of distinguishing yourself. Should such occur, I am sure you will
avail yourself of them, as one should do who comes of good stock on
both sides; for although we Fletchers have been but yeomen, from
generation to generation, we have been ever ready to take and give
our share of hard blows when they were going; and there have been
few battles fought, since William the Norman came over, that a
Fletcher has not fought in the English ranks; whether in France, in
Scotland, or in our own troubles.

"Therefore it seems to me but natural that, for many reasons, you
should desire at your age to take part in the fighting; as an
Englishman, because Englishmen fought six years ago under the
banner of Conde; as a Protestant, on behalf of our persecuted
brethren; as a Frenchman by your mother's side, because you have
kinsfolk engaged, and because it is the Pope and Philip of Spain,
as well as the Guises, who are, in fact, battling to stamp out
French liberty.

"Of one thing I am sure, my boy--you will disgrace neither an
honest English name, nor the French blood in your veins, nor your
profession as a Christian and a Protestant. There are Englishmen
gaining credit on the Spanish Main, under Drake and Hawkins; there
are Englishmen fighting manfully by the side of the Dutch; there
are others in the armies of the Protestant princes of Germany; and
in none of these matters are they so deeply concerned as you are in
the affairs of France and religion.

"I shall miss you, of course, Philip, and that sorely; but I have
long seen that this would probably be the upshot of your training
and, since I can myself take no share in adventure, beyond the
walls of this house, I shall feel that I am living again in you.
But, lad, never forget that you are English. You are Philip
Fletcher, come of an old Kentish stock; and though you may be
living with French kinsfolk and friends, always keep uppermost the
fact that you are an Englishman who sympathizes with France, and
not a Frenchman with some English blood in your veins. I have given
you up greatly to your French relations here; but if you win credit
and honour, I would have it won by my son, Philip Fletcher, born in
England of an English father, and who will one day be a gentleman
and landowner in the county of Kent."

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