results, that although the prejudice against the Reformers was very
strong, Baron d’Aygaliers found supporters who were at once intelligent
and genuine in the Duke de Chevreuse and the Duke de Montfort, his son.
These two gentlemen brought about a meeting between the baron and
Chamillard, and the latter presented him to the Marechal de Villars, to
whom he showed his petition, begging him to bring it to the notice of
the king; but M. de Villars, who was well acquainted with the obstinacy
of Louis, who, as Baron de Peken says, "only saw the Reformers through
the spectacles of Madame de Maintenon," told d’Aygaliers that the last
thing he should do would be to give the king any hint of his plans,
unless he wished to see them come to nothing; on the contrary, he
advised him to go at once to Lyons and wait there for him, M. de
Villars; for he would probably be passing through that town in a few
days, being almost certain to be appointed governor of Languedoc in
place of M. de Montrevel, who had fallen under the king’s displeasure
and was about to be recalled. In the course of the three interviews
which d’Aygaliers had had with M. de Villars, he had become convinced
that de Villars was a man capable of understanding his object; he
therefore followed his advice, as he believed his knowledge of the king
to be correct, and left Paris for Lyons.
The recall of M. de Montrevel had been brought about in the following
manner:—M. de Montrevel having just come to Uzes, learned that Cavalier
and his troops were in the neighbourhood of Sainte-Chatte; he
immediately sent M. de La Jonquiere, with six hundred picked marines and
some companies of dragoons from the regiment of Saint-Sernin, but half
an hour later, it having occurred to him that these forces were not
sufficient, he ordered M. de Foix, lieutenant of the dragoons of
Fimarqon, to join M. de La Jonquiere at Sainte-Chatte with a hundred
soldiers of his regiment, and to remain with him if he were wanted; if
not, to return the same night.
M. de Foix gave the necessary orders, chose a hundred of his bravest
men, put himself at their head, and joined M. de La Jonquiere,
showing him his orders; but the latter, confiding in the courage of
his soldiers and unwilling to share with anyone the glory of a
victory of which he felt assured, not only sent away M. de Foix,
but begged him to go back to Uzes, declaring to him that he had
enough troops to fight and conquer all the Camisards whom he might
encounter; consequently the hundred dragoons whom the lieutenant
had brought with him were quite useless at Sainte-Chatte, while on
the contrary they might be very necessary somewhere else. M. de
Foix did not consider that it was his duty to insist on remaining
under these circumstances, and returned to Uzes, while M. de La
Jonquiere continued his route in order to pass the night at
Moussac. Cavalier left the town by one gate just as M. de La
Jonquiere entered at the other. The wishes of the young Catholic
commander were thus in a fair way to be fulfilled, for in all
probability he would come up with his enemy the next day.
As the village was inhabited for the most part by new converts, the
night instead of being spent in repose was devoted to pillage.
The next day the Catholic troops reached Moussac, which they found
deserted, so they went on to Lascours-de-Gravier, a little village
belonging to the barony of Boucairan, which M. de La Jonquiere gave up
to pillage, and where he had four Protestants shot—a man, a woman, and
two young girls. He then resumed his route. As it had rained, he soon
came on the trail of the Camisards, the terrible game which he was
hunting down. For three hours he occupied himself in this pursuit,
marching at the head of his troops, lest someone else less careful than
he should make some mistake, when, suddenly raising his eyes, he
perceived the Camisards on a small eminence called Les Devois de
Maraignargues. This was the spot they had chosen to await attack in,
being eager for the approaching combat.
As soon as Cavalier saw the royals advancing, he ordered his men,
according to custom, to offer up prayers to God, and when these were
finished he disposed his troops for battle. His plan was to take up
position with the greater part of his men on the other side of a ravine,
which would thus form a kind of moat between him and the king’s
soldiers; he also ordered about thirty horsemen to make a great round,
thus reaching unseen a little wood about two hundred yards to his left,
where they could conceal themselves; and lastly, he sent to a point on
the right sixty foot-soldiers chosen from his best marksmen, whom he
ordered not to fire until the royal forces were engaged in the struggle
with him.
M. de La Jonquiere having approached to within a certain distance,
halted, and sent one of his lieutenants named de Sainte-Chatte to
make a reconnaissance, which he did, advancing beyond the men in
ambush, who gave no sign of their existence, while the officer
quietly examined the ground. But Sainte-Chatte was an old soldier
of fortune and not easily taken in, so on his return, while
explaining the plan of the ground chosen by Cavalier for the
disposition of his troops to M. de La Jonquiere, he added that he
should be very much astonished if the young Camisard had not
employed the little wood on his left and the lie of the ground on
his right as cover for soldiers in ambush; but M. de La Jonquiere
returned that the only thing of importance was to know the position
of the principal body of troops in order to attack it at once.
Sainte-Chatte told him that the principal body was that which was
before his eyes, and that on this subject there could be no
mistake; for he had approached near enough to recognise Cavalier
himself in the front rank.
This was enough for M. de La Jonquiere: he put himself at the head of
his men and rode straight to the ravine, beyond which Cavalier and his
comrades awaited him in order of battle. Having got within a
pistol-shot, M. de La Jonquiere gave the order to fire, but he was so
near that Cavalier heard the words and saw the motion made by the men as
they made ready; he therefore gave a rapid sign to his men, who threw
themselves on their faces, as did their leader, and the bullets passed
over them without doing any harm M.M. de La Jonquiere, who believed them
all dead, was astonished when Cavalier and his Camisards rose up and
rushed upon the royal troops, advancing to the sound of a psalm. At a
distance of ten paces they fired, and then charged the enemy at the
point of the bayonet. At this moment the sixty men in ambush to the
right opened fire, while the thirty horsemen to the left, uttering loud
shouts, charged at a gallop. Hearing this noise, and seeing death
approach them in three different directions, the royals believed
themselves surrounded, and did not attempt to make a stand; the men,
throwing away their weapons, took to their heels, the officers alone and
a few dragoons whom they had succeeded in rallying making a desperate
resistance.
Cavalier was riding over the field of battle, sabring all the fugitives
whom he met, when he caught sight of a group, composed of ten naval
officers; standing close together and back to back, spontoon in hand,
facing the Camisards, who surrounded them. He spurred up to them,
passing through the ranks of his soldiers, and not pausing till he was
within fifteen paces of them, although they raised their weapons to
fire. Then making a sign with his hand that he wished to speak to them,
he said, "Gentlemen, surrender. I shall give quarter, and in return for
the ten lives I now spare you, will ask that my father, who is in prison
at Nimes, be released."
For sole answer, one of the officers fired and wounded the young chief’s
horse in the head. Cavalier drew a pistol from his belt, took aim at the
officer and killed him, then turning again to the others, he asked,
"Gentlemen, are you as obstinate as your comrade, or do you accept my
offer?" A second shot was the reply, and a bullet grazed his shoulder.
Seeing that no other answer was to be hoped for, Cavalier turned to his
soldiers. "Do your duty," said he, and withdrew, to avoid seeing the
massacre. The nine officers were shot.
M. de La Jonquiere, who had received a slight wound in the cheek,
abandoned his horse in order to climb over a wall. On the other
side he made a dragoon dismount and give him his horse, on which he
crossed the river Gardon, leaving behind him on the battlefield
twenty-five officers and six hundred soldiers killed. This defeat
was doubly disastrous to the royal cause, depriving it of the
flower of its officers, almost all of those who fell belonging to
the noblest families of France, and also because the Camisards
gained what they so badly needed, muskets, swords, and bayonets in
great quantities, as well as eighty horses, these latter enabling
Cavalier to complete the organisation of a magnificent troop of
cavalry.
The recall of the Marechal de Montrevel was the consequence of this
defeat, and M. de Villars, as he had anticipated, was appointed in his
place. But before giving up his governorship Montrevel resolved to
efface the memory of the check which his lieutenant’s foolhardiness had
caused, but for which, according to the rules of war, the general had to
pay the penalty. His plan was by spreading false rumours and making
feigned marches to draw the Camisards into a trap in which they, in
their turn, would be caught. This was the less difficult to accomplish
as their latest great victory had made Cavalier over confident both in
himself and his men.
In fact, since the incident connected with the naval officers the troops
of Cavalier had increased enormously in numbers, everyone desiring to
serve under so brave a chief, so that he had now under him over one
thousand infantry and two hundred cavalry; they were furnished, besides,
just like regular troops, with a bugler for the cavalry, and eight drums
and a fife for the infantry.
The marechal felt sure that his departure would be the signal for some
expedition into the level country under Cavalier, so it was given out
that he had left for Montpellier, and had sent forward some of his
baggage-waggons to that place. On April 15th he was informed that
Cavalier, deceived by the false news, had set out on the 16th April,
intending to pass the night at Caveyrac, a small town about a league
from Nimes, that he might be ready next day to make a descent on La
Vannage. This news was brought to M. de Montrevel by a village priest
called Verrien, who had in his pay vigilant and faithful spies in whom
he had every confidence.
Montrevel accordingly ordered the commandant of Lunel, M. de Grandval,
to set out the next day, very early in the morning, with the Charolais
regiment and five companies of the Fimarcon and Saint-Sernin dragoons,
and to repair to the heights of Boissieres, where instructions would
await him. Sandricourt, governor of Nimes, was at the same time directed
to withdraw as many men as possible from the garrison, both Swiss and
dragoons, and send them by night towards Saint-Come and Clarensac;
lastly, he himself set out, as he had said, but instead of going on to
Montpellier, he stopped at Sommieres, whence he could observe the
movements of Cavalier.
Cavalier, as M. de Montrevel already knew, was to sleep on the 15th at
Caveyrac. On this day Cavalier reached the turning-point in his
magnificent career. As he entered the town with his soldiers, drums
beating and flags flying, he was at the zenith of his power. He rode the
splendid horse M. de La Jonquiere had abandoned in his flight; behind
him, serving as page, rode his young brother, aged ten, followed by four
grooms; he was preceded by twelve guards dressed in red; and as his
colleague Roland had taken the title of Comte, he allowed himself to be
called Duke of the Cevennes.
At his approach half of the garrison, which was commanded by M. de
Maillan, took possession of the church and half of the citadel; but as
Cavalier was more bent on obtaining food and rest for his soldiers than
of disturbing the town, he billeted his men on the townspeople, and
placed sentinels at the church and fortress, who exchanged shots all the
night through with the royal troops. The next morning, having destroyed
the fortifications, he marched out of the town again, drums beating and
flags flying as before. When almost in sight of Nimes he made his
troops, which had never before been so numerous or so brilliant, perform
a great many evolutions, and then continued his way towards Nages.
M. de Montrevel received a report at nine o’clock in the morning of
the direction Cavalier and his troops had taken, and immediately
left Sommieres, followed by six companies of Fimarqon dragoons, one
hundred Irish free-lances, three hundred rank and file of the
Hainault regiment, and one company each of the Soissonnais,
Charolais, and Menon regiments, forming in all a corps over nine
hundred strong. They took the direction of Vaunages, above
Clarensac; but suddenly hearing the rattle of musketry behind them,
they wheeled and made for Langlade.
They found that Grandval had already encountered the Camisards. These
being fatigued had withdrawn into a hollow between Boissieres and the
windmill at Langlade, in order to rest. The infantry lay down, their
arms beside them; the cavalry placed themselves at the feet of their
horses, the bridle on arm. Cavalier himself, Cavalier the indefatigable,
broken by the fatigues of the preceding days, had fallen asleep, with
his young brother watching beside him. Suddenly he felt himself shaken
by the arm, and rousing up, he heard on all sides cries of "Kill! Kill!"
and "To arms! To arms!" Grandval and his men, who had been sent to find
out where the Camisards were, had suddenly come upon them.
The infantry formed, the cavalry sprang to their saddles, Cavalier
leaped on his horse, and drawing his sword, led his soldiers as usual
against the dragoons, and these, as was also usual, ran away, leaving
twelve of their number dead on the field. The Camisard cavalry soon gave
up the pursuit, as they found themselves widely separated from the
infantry and from their leader; for Cavalier had been unable to keep up
with them, his horse having received a bullet through its neck.
Still they followed the flying dragoons for a good hour, from time to
time a wounded dragoon falling from his horse, till at last the Camisard
cavalry found itself confronted by the Charolais regiment, drawn up in
battle array, and behind them the royal dragoons, who had taken refuge
there, and were re-forming.
Carried on by the rapidity of their course, the Camisards could not pull
up till they were within a hundred yards of the enemy; they fired once,
killing several, then turned round and retreated.
When a third of the way, back had been covered, they met their chief,
who had found a fresh horse by the wayside standing beside its dead
master. He arrived at full gallop, as he was anxious to unite his
cavalry and infantry at once, as he had seen the forces of the marechal
advancing, who, as we have already said, had turned in the direction of
the firing. Hardly had Cavalier effected the desired junction of his
forces than he perceived that his retreat was cut off. He had the royal
troops both before and behind him.
The young chief saw that a desperate dash to right or left was all that
remained to him, and not knowing this country as well as the Cevennes,
he asked a peasant the way from Soudorgues to Nages, that being the only
one by which he could escape. There was no time to inquire whether the
peasant was Catholic or Protestant; he could only trust to chance, and
follow the road indicated. But a few yards from the spot where the road
from Doudorgues to Nages joins the road to Nimes he found himself in
face of Marechal Montrevel’s troops under the command of Menon. However,
as they hardly outnumbered the Camisards, these did not stop to look for
another route, but bending forward in their saddles, they dashed through
the lines at full gallop, taking the direction of Nages, hoping to reach
the plain round Calvisson. But the village, the approaches, the issues
were all occupied by royal troops, and at the same time Grandval and the
marechal joined forces, while Menon collected his men together and
pushed forward. Cavalier was completely surrounded: he gave the
situation a comprehensive glance—his foes, were five to one.
Rising in his stirrups, so that he could see over every head, Cavalier
shouted so loud that not only his own men heard but also those of the
enemy: "My children, if our hearts fail us now, we shall be taken and
broken on the wheel. There is only one means of safety: we must cut our
way at full gallop through these people. Follow me, and keep close
order!"
So speaking, he dashed on the nearest group, followed by all his men,
who formed a compact mass; round which the three corps of royal troops
closed. Then there was everywhere a hand-to-hand battle there was no
time to load and fire; swords flashed and fell, bayonets stabbed, the
royals and the Camisards took each other by the throat and hair. For an
hour this demoniac fight lasted, during which Cavalier lost five hundred
men and slew a thousand of the enemy. At last he won through, followed
by about two hundred of his troops, and drew a long breath; but finding
himself in the centre of a large circle of soldiers, he made for a
bridge, where alone it seemed possible to break through, it being only
guarded by a hundred dragoons.
He divided his men into two divisions, one to force the bridge, the
other to cover the retreat. Then he faced his foes like a wild boar
driven to bay.
Suddenly loud shouts behind him announced that the bridge was forced;
but the Camisards, instead of keeping the passage open for their leader,
scattered over the plain and sought safety in flight. But a child threw
himself before them, pistol in hand. It was Cavalier’s young brother,
mounted on one of the small wild horses of Camargues of that Arab breed
which was introduced into Languedoc by the Moors from Spain. Carrying a
sword and carbine proportioned to his size, the boy addressed the flying
men. "Where are you going?" he cried, "Instead of running away like
cowards, line the river banks and oppose the enemy to facilitate my
brother’s escape." Ashamed of having deserved such reproaches, the
Camisards stopped, rallied, lined the banks of the river, and by keeping
up a steady fire, covered Cavalier’s retreat, who crossed without having
received a single wound, though his horse was riddled with bullets and
he had been forced to change his sword three times.
Still the combat raged; but gradually Cavalier managed to retreat: a
plain cut by trenches, the falling darkness, a wood which afforded
cover, all combined to help him at last. Still his rearguard, harassed
by the enemy, dotted the ground it passed over with its dead, until at
last both victors and vanquished were swallowed up by night. The fight
had lasted ten hours, Cavalier had lost more than five hundred men, and
the royals about a thousand.
"Cavalier," says M. de Villars, in his Memoirs, "acted on this day in a
way which astonished everyone. For who could help being astonished to
see a nobody, inexperienced in the art of warfare, bear himself in such
difficult and trying circumstances like some great general? At one
period of the day he was followed everywhere by a dragoon; Cavalier shot
at him and killed his horse. The dragoon returned the shot, but missed.
Cavalier had two horses killed under him; the first time he caught a
dragoon’s horse, the second time he made one of his own men dismount and
go on foot."
M. de Montrevel also showed himself to be a gallant soldier; wherever
there was danger there was he, encouraging officers and soldiers by
his example: one Irish captain was killed at his side, another
fatally wounded, and a third slightly hurt. Grandval, on his part,
had performed miracles: his horse was shot under him, and M. de
Montrevel replaced it by one of great value, on which he joined in
the pursuit of the Camisards. After this affair M. de Montrevel
gave up his place to M. de Villars, leaving word for Cavalier that
it was thus he took leave of his friends.
Although Cavalier came out of this battle with honour, compelling even
his enemies to regard him as a man worthy of their steel, it had
nevertheless destroyed the best part of his hopes. He made a halt-near
Pierredon to gather together the remnant of his troops, and truly it was
but a remnant which remained. Of those who came back the greater number
were without weapons, for they had thrown them away in their flight.
Many were incapacitated for service by their wounds; and lastly, the
cavalry could hardly be said to exist any longer, as the few men who
survived had been obliged to abandon their horses, in order to get
across the high ditches which were their only cover from the dragoons
during the flight.
Meantime the royalists were very active, and Cavalier felt that it would
be imprudent to remain long at Pierredon, so setting out during the
night, and crossing the Gardon, he buried himself in the forest of
Hieuzet, whither he hoped his enemies would not venture to follow him.
And in fact the first two days were quiet, and his troops benefited
greatly by the rest, especially as they were able to draw stores of all
kinds—wheat, hay, arms, and ammunition—from an immense cave which the
Camisards had used for a long time as a magazine and arsenal. Cavalier
now also employed it as a hospital, and had the wounded carried there,
that their wounds might receive attention.
Unfortunately, Cavalier was soon obliged to quit the forest, in spite of
his hopes of being left in peace; for one day on his way back from a
visit to the wounded in the cave, whose existence was a secret, he came
across a hundred miquelets who had penetrated thus far, and who would
have taken him prisoner if he had not, with his, accustomed presence of
mind and courage, sprung from a rock twenty feet high. The miquelets
fired at him, but no bullet reached him. Cavalier rejoined his troops,
but fearing to attract the rest of the royalists to the place,—retreated
to some distance from the cave, as it was of the utmost importance that
it should not be discovered, since it contained all his resources.
Cavalier had now reached one of those moments when Fortune, tired of
conferring favours, turns her back on the favourite. The royalists had
often noticed an old woman from the village of Hieuzet going towards the
forest, sometimes carrying a basket in her hand, sometimes with a hamper
on her head, and it occurred to them that she was supplying the hidden
Camisards with provisions. She was arrested and brought before General
Lalande, who began his examination by threatening that he would have her
hanged if she did not at once declare the object of her frequent
journeys to the forest without reserve. At first she made use of all
kinds of pretexts, which only strengthened the suspicions of Lalande,
who, ceasing his questions, ordered her to be taken to the gallows and
hanged. The old woman walked to the place of execution with such a firm
step that the general began to think he would get no information from
her, but at the foot of the ladder her courage failed. She asked to be
taken back before the general, and having been promised her life, she
revealed everything.
M. de Lalande put himself at once at the head of a strong detachment
of miquelets, and forced the woman to walk before them till they
reached the cavern, which they never would have discovered without
a guide, so cleverly was the entrance hidden by rocks and
brushwood. On entering, the first thing that met their eye was the
wounded, about thirty in number. The miquelets threw themselves
upon them and slaughtered them. This deed accomplished, they went
farther into the cave, which to their great surprise contained a
thousand things they never expected to find there—heaps of grain,
sacks of flour, barrels of wine, casks of brandy, quantities of
chestnuts and potatoes; and besides all this, chests containing
ointments, drugs and lint, and lastly a complete arsenal of
muskets, swords, and bayonets, a quantity of powder ready-made, and
sulphur, saltpetre, and charcoal-in short, everything necessary for
the manufacture of more, down to small mills to be turned by hand.
Lalande kept his word: the life of an old woman was not too much to
give in return for such a treasure.
Meantime M. de Villars, as he had promised, took up Baron d’Aygaliers in
passing through Lyons, so that during the rest of the journey the
peacemaker had plenty of time to expatiate on his plans. As M. de
Villars was a man of tact and a lover of justice, and desired above all
things to bring a right spirit to bear on the performance of the duties
of his new office, in which his two predecessors had failed, he promised
the baron "to keep," as he expressed himself, his "two ears open" and
listen to both sides, and as a first proof of impartiality—he refused to
give any opinion until he had heard M. de Julien, who was coming to meet
him at Tournon.
When they arrived at Tournon, M. de Julien was there to receive them,
and had a very different story to tell from that which M. de Villars had
heard from d’Aygaliers. According to him, the only pacific ration
possible was the complete extermination of the Camisards. He felt
himself very hardly treated in that he had been allowed to destroy only
four hundred villages and hamlets in the Upper Cevennes,—assuring de
Villars with the confidence of a man who had studied the matter
profoundly, that they should all have been demolished without exception,
and all the peasants killed to the last man.
So it came to pass that M. de Villars arrived at Beaucaire placed like
Don Juan between the spirits of good and evil, the one advising clemency
and the other murder. M. de Villars not being able to make up his mind,
on reaching Nimes, d’Aygaliers assembled the principal Protestants of
the town, told them of his plan, showing them its practicability, so
that also joined in the good work, and drew up a document in which they
asked the marechal to allow them to take up arms and march against the
rebels, as they were determined either to bring them back into the good
way by force of example or to fight them as a proof of their loyalty.
This petition, which was signed by several nobles and by almost all the
lawyers and merchants of the city of Nimes, was presented to M. de
Villars on Tuesday, 22nd April, 1704, by M. de Albenas, at the head of
seven or eight hundred persons of the Reformed religion. M. de Villars
received the request kindly, thanked its bearer and those who
accompanied him, assuring them that he had no doubt of the sincerity of
their professions, and that if he were in want of help he would have
recourse to them with as much confidence as if they were old Catholics.
He hoped, however, to win the rebels back by mildness, and he begged
them to second his efforts in this direction by spreading abroad the
fact that an amnesty was offered to all those who would lay down arms
and return to their houses within a week. The very next day but one, M.
de Villars set out from Nimes to visit all the principal towns, in order
to make himself acquainted with men, things, and places.
Although the answer to the petition had been a delicate refusal,
d’Aygaliers was not discouraged, but followed M. de Villars everywhere.
When the latter arrived at Alais, the new governor sent for MM. de
Lalande and de Baville, in order to consult them as to the best means of
inducing the Camisards to lay down their arms. Baron d’Aygaliers was
summoned to this consultation, and described his plan to the two
gentlemen. As he expected, both were opposed to it; however, he tried to
bring them over to his side by presenting to them what seemed to him to
be cogent reasons for its adoption. But de Lalande and de Baville made
light of all his reasons, and rejected his proposals with such
vehemence, that the marechal, however much inclined to the side of
d’Aygaliers, did not venture to act quite alone, and said he would not
decide on any course until he reached Uzes.
D’Aygaliers saw clearly that until he had obtained the approbation of
either the general or the intendant, he would get nothing from the
marechal. He therefore considered which of the two he should try to
persuade, and although de Baville was his personal enemy, having several
times shown his hatred for him and his family, he decided to address
himself to him.
In consequence, the next day, to the great astonishment of M. de
Baville, d’Aygaliers paid him a visit. The intendant received him coldly
but politely, asked him to sit down, and when he was seated begged to
know the motive which had brought him. "Sir," replied the baron, "you
have given my family and me such cause of offence that I had come to the
firm resolution never to ask a favour of you, and as perhaps you may
have remarked during the journey we have taken with M. le marechal, I
would rather have died of thirst than accept a glass of water from you.
But I have come here to-day not upon any private matter, to obtain my
own ends, but upon a matter which concerns the welfare of the State. I
therefore beg you to put out of your mind the dislike which you have to
me and mine, and I do this the more earnestly that your dislike can only
have been caused by the fact that our religion is different from yours—a
thing which could neither have been foreseen nor prevented. My entreaty
is that you do not try to set M. le marechal against the course which I
have proposed to him, which I am convinced would bring the disorders in
our province to an end, stop the occurrence of the many unfortunate
events which I am sure you look on with regret, and spare you much
trouble and embarrassment."
The intendant was much touched by this calm speech, and above all by the
confidence which M. d’Aygaliers had shown him, and replied that he had
only offered opposition to the plan of pacification because he believed
it to be impracticable. M. d’Aygaliers then warmly pressed him to try it
before rejecting it for ever, and in the end M. de Baville withdrew his
opposition.
M. d’Aygaliers hastened to the marechal, who finding himself no longer
alone in his favourable opinion, made no further delay, but told
the baron to call together that very day all the people whom he
thought suitable for the required service, and desired that they
should be presented to him the next morning before he set out for
Nimes.
The next day, instead of the fifty men whom the marachal had thought
could be gathered together, d’Aygaliers came to him followed by eighty,
who were almost all of good and many of noble family. The meeting took
place, by the wish of the baron, in the courtyard of the episcopal
palace. "This palace," says the baron in his Memoirs, "which was of
great magnificence, surrounded by terraced gardens and superbly
furnished, was occupied by Monseigneur Michel Poncet de La Riviere. He
was a man passionately devoted to pleasures of all kinds, especially to
music, women, and good cheer. There were always to be found in his house
good musicians, pretty women, and excellent wines. These latter suited
him so well that he never left the table without being in a pleasant
humour, and at such a moment if it came into his head that anyone in his
diocese was not as good a Christian as himself, he would sit down and
write to M. de Baville, urging that the delinquent ought to be sent into
exile. He often did this honour to my late father." M. d’Aygaliers goes
on to say that "on seeing such a great number of Huguenots in the court
who were all declaring that they were better servants of the king than
the Catholics, he almost fell from his balcony with vexation and
surprise. This vexation increased when he saw M. de Villars and M. de
Baville, who had apartments in the palace, come down into the court and
talk to these people. One hope still remained to him: it was that the
marechal and the intendant had come down to send them away; but this
last hope was cruelly disappointed when he heard M. de Villars say that
he accepted their service and expected them to obey d’Aygaliers in all
matters concerning the service of the king."
But this was not all that had to be accomplished arms were necessary for
the Protestants, and though their number was not great, there was a
difficulty in finding them weapons. The unfortunate Calvinists had been
disarmed so often that even their table-knives had been carried off, so
it was useless to search their houses for guns and sabres. D’Aygaliers
proposed that they should take the arms of the townspeople, but M. de
Villars considered that it would offend the Catholics to have their arms
taken from them and given to the Protestants. In the end, however, this
was the course that had to be adopted: M. de Paratte was ordered to give
fifty muskets and the same number of bayonets to M. d’Aygaliers, who
also received, as the reward of his long patience, from M. de Villars,
before the latter left for Nimes, the following commission:
"We, Marechal de Villars, general in the armies of the king, etc., etc.,
have given permission to M. d’Aygaliers, nobleman and Protestant of the
town of Uzes, and to fifty men chosen by him, to make war on the
Camisards.
"(Signed) "VILLARS
"Given at Uzes, the 4th of May 1704"
Hardly had M. de Villars set out for Nimes than d’Aygaliers met with
fresh difficulties. The bishop, who could not forget that his episcopal
palace had been turned into barracks for Huguenots, went from house to
house threatening those who had promised to countenance d’Aygaliers’
plans, and strictly forbidding the captains of the town troops to
deliver any weapons to the Protestants. Fortunately, d’Aygaliers had not
accomplished so much without having learned not to draw back when the
road grew rough, so he also on his side went about confirming the strong
and encouraging the feeble, and called on M. de Paratte to beg him to
carry out the orders of M. de Villars. De Paratte was happily an old
soldier, whose one idea was that discipline should be maintained, so
that he gave the guns and bayonets to d’Aygaliers on the spot, without a
word of objection, and thus enabled the latter to start at five o’clock
next morning with his little band.
Meantime de Baville and de Lalande had been reflecting what great
influence d’Aygaliers would gain in the province should he succeed in
his aims, and their jealousy had made them resolve to forestall him in
his work, by themselves inducing Cavalier to abandon his present course.
They did not conceal from themselves that this would be difficult, but
as they could command means of corruption which were not within the
power of d’Aygaliers, they did not despair of success.
They therefore sent for a countryman called Lacombe, in order to enlist
him on their side; for Cavalier, when a boy, had been his shepherd for
two years, and both had remained friends ever since: this man undertook
to try and bring about a meeting between the two gentlemen and
Cavalier—an enterprise which would have been dangerous for anyone else.
He promised first of all to explain to Cavalier the offers of MM. de
Baville and de Lalande.
Lacombe kept his word: he set off the same day, and two days later
appeared before Cavalier. The first feeling of the young chief was
astonishment, the second pleasure. Lacombe could not have chosen a
better moment to speak of peace to his former shepherd.
"Indeed," says Cavalier in his Memoirs, "the loss which I had just
sustained at Nages was doubly painful to me because it was irreparable.
I had lost at one blow not only a great number of weapons, all my
ammunition, and all my money, but also a body of men, inured to danger
and fatigue, and capable of any undertaking;—besides all this, I had
been robbed of my stores—a loss which made itself felt more than all the
others put together, because as long as the secret of the cavern was
kept, in all our misfortunes we were never without resources; but from
the moment it got into the possession of our enemies we were quite
destitute. The country was ravaged, my friends had grown cold, their
purses were empty, a hundred towns had been sacked and burned, the
prisons were full of Protestants, the fields were uncultivated. Added to
all this, the long promised help from England had never arrived, and the
new marechal had appeared in the province accompanied by fresh troops."
Nevertheless, in spite of his desperate position, Cavalier listened to
the propositions laid before him by Lacombe with cold and haughty front,
and his reply was that he would never lay down arms till the Protestants
had obtained the right to the free exercise of their religion.
Firm as was this answer, Lalande did not despair of inducing Cavalier to
come to terms: he therefore wrote him a letter with his own hand, asking
him for an interview, and pledging his word that if they came to no
agreement Cavalier should be free to retire without any harm being done
him; but he added that, if he refused this request, he should regard him
as an enemy to peace, and responsible for all the blood which might be
shed in future.
This overture, made with a soldier’s frankness, had a great effect on
Cavalier, and in order that neither his friends nor his enemies should
have the least excuse for blaming him, he resolved to show everyone that
he was eager to seize the first chance of making peace on advantageous
terms.
He therefore replied to Lalande, that he would come to the bridge of
Avene on that very day, the 12th May, at noon, and sent his letter by
Catinat, ordering him to deliver it into the hands of the Catholic
general himself.
Catinat was worthy of his mission. He was a peasant from Cayla, whose
real name was Abdias Maurel. He had served under Marshal Catinat in
Italy, the same who had maintained so gallant a struggle against Prince
Eugene. When Maurel returned home he could talk of nothing but his
marshal and his campaigns, so that he soon went among his neighbours by
the name of "Catinat." He was, as we have seen, Cavalier’s right hand,
who had placed him in command of his cavalry, and who now entrusted him
with a still more dangerous post, that of envoy to a man who had often
said that he would give 2000 livres to him who would bring him the head
of Cavalier, and 1000 livres each for the heads of his two lieutenants.
Catinat was quite well aware of this offer of Lalande’s, yet he appeared
before the general perfectly cool and calm; only, either from a feeling
of propriety or of pride, he was dressed in full uniform.
The bold and haughty expression of the man who presented Cavalier’s
letter astonished the general, who asked him his name.
"I am Catinat," he answered.
"Catinat!" exclaimed Lalande in surprise.
"Yes, Catinat, commander of the cavalry of Cavalier."
"What!" said Lalande, "are you the Catinat who massacred so many people
in Beaucaire?"
"Yes, I am. I did it, but it was my duty."
"Well," exclaimed M. de Lalande, "you show great hardihood in daring to
appear before me."
"I came," said Catinat proudly, "trusting to your honour and to the
promise that Brother Cavalier gave me that nothing should happen to me."
"He was quite right," returned Lalande, taking the letter. Having read
it, he said, "Go back to Cavalier and assure him that I shall be at the
bridge of Avene at noon, accompanied only by a few officers and thirty
dragoons. I expect to find him there with a similar number of men."
"But," answered Catinat, "it is possible that Brother Cavalier may not
wish-to come with so poor a following."
"If so," returned Lalande, "then tell him that he may bring his whole
army if he likes, but that I shall not take a single man with me more
than I have said; as Cavalier has confidence in me, I have confidence in
him."
Catinat reported Lalande’s answer to his chief it was of a kind that he
understood and liked, so leaving the rest of his troops at Massanes, he
chose sixty men from his infantry, and eight horsemen as escort. On
coming in sight of the bridge, he saw Lalande approaching from the other
side. He at once ordered his sixty men to halt, went a few steps farther
with his eight horsemen, and then ordered them in their turn to stop,
and advanced alone towards the bridge. Lalande had acted in the same
manner with regard to his dragoons and officers, and now dismounting,
came towards Cavalier.
The two met in the middle of the bridge, and saluted with the courtesy
of men who had learned to esteem each other on the field of battle. Then
after a short silence, during which they examined each other, Lalande
spoke.
"Sir," said he, "the king in his clemency desires to put an end to the
war which is going on between his subjects, and which can only result in
the ruin of his kingdom. As he knows that this war has been instigated
and supported by the enemies of France, he hopes to meet no opposition
to his wishes among those of his subjects who were momentarily led
astray, but to whom he now offers pardon."
"Sir," answered Cavalier, "the war not having been begun by the
Protestants, they are always ready for peace—but a real peace, without
restriction or reserve. They have no right, I know, to lay down
conditions, but I hope they will be permitted to discuss those which may
be laid down for them. Speak openly, sir, and let me know what the
offers are that you have been authorised to make to us, that I may judge
if we can accept them."
"But how would it be," said Lalande, "if you were mistaken, and if the
king desired to know what conditions you would consider reasonable?"
"If that is so," answered Cavalier, "I will tell you our conditions at
once, in order not to prolong the negotiations; for every minute’s
delay, as you know, costs someone his life or fortune."
"Then tell me what your conditions are," returned Lalande.
"Well," said Cavalier, "our demands are three first, liberty of
conscience; secondly, the release of all prisoners who have been
condemned to imprisonment or the galleys because of their religion; and
thirdly, that if we are not granted liberty of conscience we may be at
least permitted to leave the kingdom."
"As far as I can judge," replied Lalande, "I do not believe that the
king will accept the first proposition, but it is possible that he may
accede to the third. In that case, how many Protestants would you take
with you?"
"Ten thousand of all ages and both sexes."
"The number is excessive, sir. I believe that His Majesty is not
disposed to go beyond three thousand."
"Then," replied Cavalier, "there is nothing more to be said, for I could
not accept passports for any smaller number, and I could accept for the
ten thousand only on condition that the king would grant us three months
in which to dispose of our possessions and withdraw from the country
without being molested. Should His Majesty, however, not be pleased to
allow us to leave the kingdom, then we beg that our edicts be re-enacted
and our privileges restored, whereupon we shall become once more, what
we were formerly, His Majesty’s loyal and obedient servants."
"Sir," said Lalande, "I shall lay your conditions before M. le Marechal,
and if no satisfactory conclusion can be arrived at, it will be to me a
matter of profound regret. And now, sir, will you permit me to inspect
more closely the gallant men with whose help you have done such
astounding deeds?" Cavalier smiled; for these "gallant men" when caught
had been broken on the wheel, burnt at the stake, or hanged like
brigands. His sole answer was an inclination of the head as he turned
and led the way to his little escort. M. de Lalande followed him with
perfect confidence, and, passing by the eight horsemen who were grouped
on the road, he walked up to the infantry, and taking out of his pocket
a handful of gold, he scattered it before them, saying:
"There, my men! that is to drink the king’s health with."
Not a man stooped to pick the money up, and one of them said, shaking
his head,
"It is not money we want, but liberty of conscience."
"My men," answered Lalande, "it is unfortunately not in my power to
grant your demand, but I advise you to submit to the king’s will and
trust in his clemency."
"Sir," answered Cavalier, "we are all ready to obey him, provided that
he graciously grant us our just demands; if not, we shall die weapon in
hand, rather than expose ourselves once more to such outrages as have
already been inflicted on us."
"Your demands shall be transmitted word for word to M. de Villars, who
will lay them before the king," said Lalande, "and you may be sure, sir,
that my most sincere wish is that His Majesty may not find them
exorbitant."
With these words, M. de Lalande saluted Cavalier, and turned to rejoin
his escort; but Cavalier, wishing to return confidence with confidence,
crossed the bridge with him, and accompanied the general to where his
soldiers had halted. There, with another salute, the two chiefs parted,
M. de Lalande taking the road to Uzes, while Cavalier rejoined his
comrades.
Meantime d’Aygaliers, who, as we have seen, had not left Uzes until the
5th May, in order to join Cavalier, did not come up with him until the
13th, that is to say, the day after his conference with Lalande.
D’Aygaliers gives us an account of their interview, and we cannot do
better than quote it.
"Although it was the first time that we had met face to face, we
embraced each other as if we were old acquaintances. My little band
mixed with his and sang psalms together, while Cavalier and I talked. I
was very much pleased with what, he said, and convinced him without
difficulty that he should submit for the sake of the brethren, who could
then choose whichever course best suited them, and either leave the
kingdom or serve the king. I said that I believed the last course to be
the best, provided we were allowed to worship God according to our
consciences; because I hoped that, seeing their faithful service, His
Majesty would recognise that he had been imposed upon by those who had
described us as disloyal subjects, and that we should thus obtain for
the whole nation that liberty of conscience which had been granted to
us; that in no other way, as far as I could see, could our deplorable
condition be ameliorated, for although Cavalier and his men might be
able to exist for some time longer in the forests and mountains, they
would never be strong enough to save the inhabitants of towns and other
enclosed places from perishing.
"Upon this he replied, that although the Catholics seldom kept a promise
made to those of our religion, he was willing to risk his life for the
welfare of his brethren and the province but that he trusted if he
confided in the clemency of the king for whom he had never ceased to
pray, no harm would happen him."
Thereupon d’Aygaliers, delighted to find him so well inclined, begged
him to give him a letter for M. de Villars, and as Cavalier knew the
marechal to be loyal and zealous, and had great confidence in him, he
wrote without any hesitation the following letter:
"MONSEIGNEUR,—Permit me to address your Excellency in order to beg
humbly for the favour of your protection for myself and for my soldiers.
We are filled with the most ardent desire to repair the fault which we
have committed by bearing arms, not against the king, as our enemies
have so falsely asserted, but to defend our lives against those who
persecuted us, attacking us so fiercely that we believed it was done by
order of His Majesty. We know that it was written by St. Paul that
subjects ought to submit themselves to their king, and if in spite of
these sincere protestations our sovereign should still demand our blood,
we shall soon be ready to throw ourselves on his justice or his mercy;
but we should, Monseigneur, regard ourselves as happy, if His Majesty,
moved by our repentance, would grant us his pardon and receive us into
his service, according to the example of the God of mercy whose
representative His Majesty is on earth. We trust, Monseigneur, by our
faithfulness and zeal to acquire the honour of your protection, and we
glory in the thought of being permitted, under the command of such an
illustrious and noble-minded general as yourself, to shed our blood for
the king; this being so, I hope that your Excellency will be pleased to
allow me to inscribe myself with profound respect and humility,
Monseigneur, your most humble and obedient servant, "CAVALIER."
D’Aygaliers, as soon as he got possession of this letter, set out for
Nimes in the best of spirits; for he felt sure that he was bringing M.
de Villars more than he had expected. And, indeed, as soon as the
marechal saw how far things had gone, in spite of everything that
Lalande could say, who in his jealousy asserted that d’Aygaliers would
spoil everything, he sent him back to Cavalier with an invitation to
come to Nimes. D’Aygaliers set out at once, promising to bring the young
chief back with him, at which Lalande laughed loudly, pretending to be
very much amused at the baron’s confident way of speaking, and
protesting that Cavalier would not come.
In the meantime events were happening in the mountains which might
easily have changed the state of mind of the young chief. The Comte de
Tournan, who was in command at Florae, had encountered Roland’s army in
the plain of Fondmortes, and had lost two hundred men, a considerable
sum of money, and eighty mules loaded with provisions. The anxiety which
this news caused to M. de Villars was soon relieved; for six days after
the defeat he received a letter from Cavalier by the hands of Lacombe,
the same who had brought about the interview on the bridge of Avenes. In
this letter Cavalier expressed the greatest regret for what had just
happened.
D’Aygaliers therefore found Cavalier in the best of humours when he
joined him at Tarnac. The first feeling that the young chief felt on
receiving the invitation was one of stupefaction; for an interview with
the marechal was an honour so unexpected and so great, that his
impression was that some treason lay behind it; but he was soon
reassured when he recalled the character for loyalty which the marechal
bore, and how impossible it was that d’Aygaliers should lend himself to
treachery. So Cavalier sent back word that he would obey the marechal’s
orders; and that he put himself entirely into his hands in what
concerned the arrangements for the interview. M. de Villars let him know
that he would expect him on the 16th in the garden of the convent of the
Recollets of Nimes, which lay just outside the city, between the gates
of Beaucaire and the Madeleine, and that Lalande would meet him beyond
Carayrac to receive him and to bring him hostages.
CHAPTER IV
On the 15th May Cavalier set out from Tarnac at the head of one hundred
and sixty foot-soldiers and fifty horse; he was accompanied by his young
brother and by d’Aygaliers and Lacombe. They all passed the night at
Langlade.
The next day they set out for Nimes, and, as had been agreed upon, were
met by Lalande between Saint-Cesaire and Carayrac. Lalande advanced to
greet Cavalier and present the hostages to him. These hostages were M.
de La Duretiere, captain of the Fimarcon regiment, a captain of
infantry, several other officers, and ten dragoons. Cavalier passed them
over to his lieutenant, Ravanel, who was in command of the infantry, and
left them in his charge at Saint-Cesaire. The cavalry accompanied him to
within a musket-shot of Nimes, and encamped upon the heights. Besides
this, Cavalier posted sentinels and mounted orderlies at all the
approaches to the camp, and even as far off as the fountain of Diana and
the tennis-court. These precautions taken, he entered the city,
accompanied by his brother, d’Aygaliers, Lacombe, and a body-guard of
eighteen cavalry, commanded by Catinat. Lalande rode on before to
announce their arrival to the marechal, whom he found waiting with MM.
de Baville and Sandricourt, in the garden of the Recollets, dreading
every moment to receive word that Cavalier had refused to come; for he
expected great results from this interview. Lalande, however, reassured
him by telling him the young Huguenot was behind.
In a few minutes a great tumult was heard: it was the people hastening
to welcome their hero. Not a Protestant, except paralytic old people and
infants in the cradle, remained indoors; for the Huguenots, who had long
looked on Cavalier as their champion, now considered him their saviour,
so that men and women threw themselves under the feet of his horse in
their efforts to kiss the skirts of his coat. It was more like a victor
making his entry into a conquered town than a rebel chief coming to beg
for an amnesty for himself and his adherents. M. de Villars heard the
outcry from the garden of Recollets, and when he learned its cause his
esteem for Cavalier rose higher, for every day since his arrival as
governor had showed him more and more clearly how great was the young
chief’s influence. The tumult increased as Cavalier came nearer, and it
flashed through the marechal’s mind that instead of giving hostages he
should have claimed them. At this moment Cavalier appeared at the gate,
and seeing the marechal’s guard drawn up in line, he caused his own to
form a line opposite them. The memoirs of the time tell us that he was
dressed in a coffee-coloured coat, with a very full white muslin cravat;
he wore a cross-belt from which depended his sword, and on his head a
gold-laced hat of black felt. He was mounted on a magnificent bay horse,
the same which he had taken from M. de La Jonquiere on the bloody day of
Vergenne.
The lieutenant of the guard met him at the gate. Cavalier quickly
dismounted, and throwing the bridle of his horse to one of his men, he
entered the garden, and advanced towards the expectant group, which was
composed, as we have said, of Villars, Baville, and Sandricourt. As he
drew near, M. de Villars regarded him with growing astonishment; for he
could not believe that in the young man, or rather boy, before him he
saw the terrible Cevenol chief, whose name alone made the bravest
soldiers tremble. Cavalier at this period had just completed his
twenty-fourth year, but, thanks to his fair hair which fell in long
locks over his shoulders, and to the gentle expression of his eyes he
did not appear more than eighteen. Cavalier was acquainted with none of
the men in whose presence he stood, but he noticed M. de Villars’ rich
dress and air of command. He therefore saluted him first; afterwards,
turning towards the others, he bowed to each, but less profoundly, then
somewhat embarrassed and with downcast eyes he stood motionless and
silent. The marechal still continued to look at him in silent
astonishment, turning from time to time to Baville and Sandricourt, as
if to assure himself that there was no mistake and that it was really
the man whom they expected who stood before them. At last, doubting
still, in spite of the signs they made to reassure him, he asked—
"Are you really Jean Cavalier?"
"Yes, monseigneur," was the reply, given in an unsteady voice.
"But I mean Jean Cavalier, the Camisard general, he who has assumed the
title of Duke of the Cevennes."
"I have not assumed that title, monseigneur, only some people call me so
in joke: the king alone has the right to confer titles, and I rejoice
exceedingly, monseigneur, that he has given you that of governor of
Languedoc."
"When you are speaking of the king, why do you not say ’His Majesty’?"
said M. de Baville. "Upon my soul, the king is too good to treat thus
with a rebel."
The blood rushed to Cavalier’s head, his face flamed, and after a
moment’s pause, fixing his eye boldly upon M. de Baville, and speaking
in a voice which was now as firm as it had been tremulous a moment
before, he said, "If you have only brought me here, sir, to speak to me
in such a manner, you might better have left me in my mountains, and
come there yourself to take a lesson in hospitality. If I am a rebel, it
is not I who am answerable, for it was the tyranny and cruelty of M. de
Baville which forced us to have recourse to arms; and if history takes
exception to anything connected with the great monarch for whose pardon
I sue to-day, it will be, I hope, not that he had foes like me, but
friends like him."
M. de Baville grew pale with anger; for whether Cavalier knew to whom
he was speaking or not, his words had the effect of a violent blow
full in his face; but before he could reply M. de Villars
interposed.
"Your business is only with me, sir," he said; "attend to me alone, I
beg: I speak in the name of the king; and the king, of his clemency,
wishes to spare his subjects by treating them with tenderness."
Cavalier opened his mouth to reply, but the intendant cut him short.
"I should hope that that suffices," he said contemptuously: "as pardon
is more than you could have hoped for, I suppose you are not going to
insist on the other conditions you laid down?"
"But it is precisely those other conditions," said Cavalier, addressing
himself to M. de Villars, and not seeming to see that anyone else was
present, "for which we have fought. If I were alone, sir, I should give
myself up, bound hand and foot, with entire confidence in your good
faith, demanding no assurances and exacting no conditions; but I stand
here to defend the interests of my brethren and friends who trust me;
and what is more, things have gone so far that we must either die weapon
in hand, or obtain our rights."
The intendant was about to speak, but the marechal stopped him with such
an imperative gesture that he stepped back as if to show that he washed
his hands of the whole matter.
"What are those rights? Are they those which M. Lalande has transmitted
to me by word of mouth?"
"Yes, sir."
"It would be well to commit them to writing."
"I have done so, monseigneur, and sent a copy to M. d’Aygaliers."
"I have not seen it, sir; make me another copy and place it in my hands,
I beg."
"I shall go and set about it directly, monseigneur," stepping back as if
about to withdraw.
"One moment!" said the marechal, detaining him by a smile. "Is it true
that you are willing to enter the king’s army?"
"I am more than willing, I desire it with all my heart," exclaimed
Cavalier, with the frank enthusiasm natural to his age, "but I cannot do
so till our just demands are granted."
"But if they were granted—?"
"Then, sir," replied Cavalier, "the king has never had more loyal
subjects than we shall be."
"Well, have a little patience and everything will be arranged, I hope."
"May God grant it!" said Cavalier. "He is my witness that we desire
peace beyond everything." And he took another step backwards.
"You will not go too far away, I hope," said the marechal.
"We shall remain wherever your excellency may appoint," said Cavalier.
"Very well," continued M. de Villars; "halt at Calvisson, and try all
you can to induce the other leaders to follow your example."
"I shall do my best, monseigneur; but while we await His Majesty’s reply
shall we be allowed to fulfil our religious duties unimpeded?"
"Yes, I shall give orders that you are to have full liberty in that
respect."
"Thanks, monseigneur."
Cavalier bowed once more, and was about to go; but M. de Villars
accompanied him and Lalande, who had now joined them, and who stood with
his hand on Cavalier’s shoulder, a few steps farther. Catinat seeing
that the conference was at an end, entered the garden with his men.
Thereupon M. de Villars took leave, saying distinctly, "Adieu, Seigneur
Cavalier," and withdrew, leaving the young chief surrounded by a dozen
persons all wanting to speak to him at once. For half an hour he was
detained by questions, to all of which he replied pleasantly. On one
finger was an emerald taken from a naval officer named Didier, whom he
had killed with his own hand in the action at Devois de Martignargues;
he kept time by a superb watch which had belonged to M. d’Acqueville,
the second in command of the marines; and he offered his questioners
from time to time perfumed snuff from a magnificent snuffbox, which he
had found in the holsters when he took possession of M. de La
Jonquiere’s horse. He told everyone who wished to listen that he had
never intended to revolt against the king; and that he was now ready to
shed the last drop of his blood in his service; that he had several
times offered to surrender on condition that liberty of conscience was
granted to those of the new faith, but that M. de Montrevel had always
rejected his offers, so that he had been obliged to remain under arms,
in order to deliver those who were in prison, and to gain permission for
those who were free to worship God in their own way.
He said these things in an unembarrassed and graceful manner, hat in
hand; then passing through the crowd which had gathered outside the
garden of the Recollets, he repaired to the Hotel de la Poste for lunch,
and afterwards walked along the Esplanade to the house of one Guy
Billard, a gardener, who was his head prophet’s father. As he thus moved
about he was preceded by two Camisards with drawn swords, who made way
for him; and several ladies were presented to him who were happy to
touch his doublet. The visit over, he once again passed along the
Esplanade, still preceded by his two Camisards, and just as he passed
the Little Convent he and those with him struck up a psalm tune, and
continued singing till they reached Saint-Cesaire, where the hostages
were. These he at once sent back.
Five hundred persons from Nimes were awaiting him; refreshments were
offered to him, which he accepted gratefully, thanking all those who had
gathered together to meet him. At last he went off to St. Denoise, where
he was to sup and sleep; but before going to bed he offered up
supplications in a loud voice for the king, for M. de Villars, for M. de
Lalande, and even for M. de Baville.
The next morning, Cavalier, according to promise, sent a copy of his
demands to M. de Villars, who caused it to be laid before the king,
along with a full report of all that had passed at the interview at
Nimes. As soon as the young chief had sent off his missive, he rejoined
his troops at Tarnac, and related all that had passed to Roland, urging
him to follow his example. That night he slept at Sauves, having passed
through Durfort at the head of his men; a captain of dragoons named
Montgros, with twenty-five soldiers, accompanying him everywhere, by M.
de Villars’ orders, and seeing that the villages through which they
passed furnished him with all that was needed. They left Sauves on May
16th very early in the morning, in order to get to Calvisson, which, as
our readers may remember, was the place appointed for the residence of
Cavalier during the truce. In passing through Quissac, where they
stopped for refreshments, they were joined by Castanet who delivered a
long sermon, at which all the Protestants of the neighbourhood were
present.
The two battalions of the Charolais regiment which were quartered at
Calvisson had received orders on the evening of the 17th to march out
next morning, so as to make room for the Camisards.
On the 18th the head of the commissary department, Vincel, ordered
suitable accommodation to be provided for Cavalier and his troops; the
muster roll being in the hands of M. d’Aygaliers, it would be sent by
him or brought in the course of the day. In the meantime, vans were
arriving filled with all sorts of provisions, followed by droves of
cattle, while a commissary and several clerks, charged with the
distribution of rations, brought up the rear.
On the 19th, Catinat, accompanied by twelve Camisards, rode into the
town, and was met at the barrier by the commandant and eighty
townspeople. As soon as the little band came in sight the commandant
reiterated his orders that nothing should be said or done in the town,
on pain of corporal punishment, that could offend the Camisards.
At one o’clock P. M. Baron d’Aygaliers arrived, followed in his turn by
the chief of the commissariat, Vincel, by Captain Cappon, two other
officers named Viala and Despuech, and six dragoons. These were the
hostages Cavalier had given.
At six o’clock there was heard a great noise; and shouts of "Cavalier!
Cavalier!" resounded on all sides. The young Cevenol was in sight, and
the whole population hastened to meet him. He rode at the head of his
cavalry, the infantry following, and the whole number—about six hundred
men—sang psalms in a loud voice.
When they reached the church, Cavalier drew up before it with all his
men in review order, and for some time the singing went on. When it
stopped, a long prayer was offered up, which was most edifying to all
the bystanders; and this being over, Cavalier went to the quarters
assigned him, which were in the best house in Calvisson. Arrived there,
he sent out for a dozen loaves that he might judge how his men were
going to be fed; not finding them white enough, he complained to M.
Vincel, whom he sent for, and who promised that in future the bread
should be of a better quality. Having received this assurance, Cavalier
gave orders that the loaves in hand should be distributed for that day,
but probably fearing poison, he first made M. de Vincel and his clerks
taste them in his presence. These duties accomplished, he visited in
person all the gates of the town, placed guards and posted sentinels at
all the entrances and along all the avenues, the most advanced being
three-quarters of a league from the town. Besides this, he placed guards
in the streets, and a sentinel at each door of the house he occupied; in
addition, thirty guards always slept outside the door of his bedroom,
and these accompanied him as an escort when he went out; not that he was
afraid, for he was not of a mistrustful character, but that he thought
it politic to give people an exalted idea of his importance. As to his
soldiers, they were billeted on the inhabitants, and received each as
daily rations a pound of meat, a quart of wine, and two and a half
pounds of bread.
The same day a convocation was held on the site of the old meeting-house
which had been destroyed by the Catholics. It was a very numerous
assembly, to which crowds of people came from all parts; but on the
following days it was still more numerous; for, as the news spread,
people ran with great eagerness to hear the preaching of the word of
which they had been so long deprived. D’Aygaliers tells us in his
Memoirs that—"No one could help being touched to see a whole people just
escaped from fire and sword, coming together in multitudes to mingle
their tears and sighs. So famished were they for the manna divine, that
they were like people coming out of a besieged city, after a long and
cruel famine, to whom peace has brought food in abundance, and who,
first devouring it with their eyes, then throw themselves on it,
devouring it bodily—meat, bread, and fruit—as it comes to hand. So it
was with the unfortunate inhabitants of La Vannage, and even of places
more distant still. They saw their brethren assembling in the meadows
and at the gates of Calvisson, gathering in crowds and pressing round
anyone who started singing a psalm, until at last four or five thousand
persons, singing, weeping, and praying, were gathered together, and
remained there all day, supplicating God with a devotion that went to
every heart and made a deep impression. All night the same things went
on; nothing was to be heard but preaching, singing, praying, and
prophesying."
But if it was a time of joy for the Protestants, it was a time of
humiliation for the Catholics. "Certainly," says a contemporary
historian, "it was a very surprising thing, and quite a novelty, to see
in a province like Languedoc, where so many troops were quartered, such
a large number of villains—all murderers, incendiaries, and guilty of
sacrilege—gathered together in one place by permission of those in
command of the troops; tolerated in their eccentricities, fed at the
public expense, flattered by everyone, and courteously, received by
people sent specially to meet them."
One of those who was most indignant at this state of things was M. de
Baville. He was so eager to put an end to it that he went to see the
governor, and told him the scandal was becoming too great in his
opinion: the assemblies ought to be put an end to by allowing the troops
to fall upon them and disperse them; but the governor thought quite
otherwise, and told Baville that to act according to his advice would be
to set fire to the province again and to scatter for ever people whom
they had got together with such difficulty. In any case, he reminded
Baville that what he objected to would be over in a few days. His
opinion was that de Baville might stifle the expression of his
dissatisfaction for a little, to bring about a great good. "More than
that," added the marechal, "the impatience of the priests is most
ridiculous. Besides your remonstrances, of which I hope I have now heard
the last, I have received numberless letters full of such complaints
that it would seem as if the prayers of the Camisards not only grated on
the ears of the clergy but flayed them alive. I should like above
everything to find out the writers of these letters, in order to have
them flogged; but they have taken good care to put no signatures. I
regard it as a very great impertinence for those who caused these
disturbances to grumble and express their disapproval at my efforts to
bring them to an end." After this speech, M. de Baville saw there was
nothing for him to do but to let things take their course.
The course that they took turned Cavalier’s head more and more; for
thanks to the injunctions of M. de Villars, all the orders that Cavalier
gave were obeyed as if they had been issued by the governor himself. He
had a court like a prince, lieutenants like a general, and secretaries
like a statesman. It was the duty of one secretary to give leave of
absence to those Camisards who had business to attend to or who desired
to visit their relations. The following is a copy of the form used for
these passports:
"We, the undersigned, secretary to Brother Cavalier, generalissimo of
the Huguenots, permit by this order given by him to absent himself on
business for three days.
"(Signed) DUPONT.
"Calvisson, this——"
And these safe-conducts were as much respected as if they had been
signed "Marechal de Villars."
On the 22nd M. de Saint-Pierre arrived from the court, bringing the
reply of the king to the proposals which Cavalier had submitted to M. de
Lalande. What this reply was did not transpire; probably it was not in
harmony with the pacific intentions of the marechal. At last, on the
25th, the answer to the demands which Cavalier had made to M. de Villars
himself arrived. The original paper written by the Camisard chief
himself had been sent to Louis XIV, and he returned it with notes in his
own writing; thus these two hands, to one of which belonged the
shepherd’s crook and to the other the sceptre, had rested on the same
sheet of paper. The following is the text of the agreement as given by
Cavalier in his Memoirs:
"THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE REFORMERS OF
LANGUEDOC TO THE KING
"1. That it may please the king to grant us liberty of conscience
throughout the province, and to permit us to hold religious meetings in
every suitable place, except fortified places and walled cities.
’Granted, on condition that no churches be built.
"2. That all those in prison or at the galleys who have been sent there
since the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, because of their religion,
be set at liberty within six weeks from the date of this petition.
’Granted.
"3. That all those who have left the kingdom because of their religion
be allowed to return in freedom and safety, and that their goods and
privileges be restored to them.
’Granted on condition that they take the oath of fidelity to the king.
"4. That the Parliament of Languedoc be reestablished on its ancient
footing, and with all its former privileges.
’The king reserves decision on this point.
"5. That the province of Languedoc be exempted from the poll tax for ten
years, this to apply, to Catholics and Protestants alike, both sides
having equally suffered.
’Refused.
"6. That the cities of Perpignan, Montpellier, Cette, and Aiguemortes be
assigned us as cities of refuge.
’Refused.
"7. That the inhabitants of the Cevennes whose houses were burnt or
otherwise destroyed during the war be exempt from taxes for seven years.
’Granted.
"8. That it may please His Majesty to permit Cavalier to choose 2000
men, both from among his own troops and from among those who may be
delivered from the prisons and galleys, to form a regiment of dragoons
for the service of His Majesty, and that this regiment when formed may
at once be ordered to serve His Majesty in Portugal.
’Granted: and on condition that all the Huguenots everywhere lay down
their arms, the king will permit them to live quietly in the free
exercise of their religion.’"
"I had been a week at Calvisson," says Cavalier in his Memoirs, "when I
received a letter from M. le Marechal de Villars ordering me to repair
to Nimes, as he wished to see me, the answer to my demands having
arrived. I obeyed at once, and was very much displeased to find that
several of my demands, and in particular the one relating to the cities
of refuge, had been refused; but M. le marechal assured me that the
king’s word was better than twenty cities of refuge, and that after all
the trouble we had given him we should regard it as showing great
clemency on his part that he had granted us the greater part of what we
had asked. This reasoning was not entirely convincing, but as there was
no more time for deliberation, and as I was as anxious for peace as the
king himself, I decided to accept gracefully what was offered."
All the further advantage that Cavalier could obtain from M. de Villars
was that the treaty should bear the date of the day on which it had been
drawn up; in this manner the prisoners who were to be set at liberty in
six weeks gained one week.
M. de Villars wrote at the bottom of the treaty, which was signed the
same day by him and M. de Baville on the part of the king, and by
Cavalier and Daniel Billard on the part of the Protestants, the
following ratification:
"In virtue of the plenary powers which we have received from the king,
we have granted to the Reformers of Languedoc the articles above made
known.
"MARECHAL DE VILLARS J. CAVALIER "LAMOIGNON DE BAVILLE DANIEL BILLARD
"Given at Nimes, the 17th of May 1704"
These two signatures, all unworthy as they were to stand beside their
own, gave such great delight to MM. de Villars and de Baville, that they
at once sent off fresh orders to Calvisson that the wants of the
Camisards should be abundantly supplied until the articles of the treaty
were executed—that is to say, until the prisoners and the galley slaves
were set at liberty, which, according to article 2 of the treaty, would
be within the next six weeks. As to Cavalier, the marechal gave him on
the spot a commission as colonel, with a pension of 1200 livres
attached, and the power of nominating the subordinate officers in his
regiment, and at the same time he handed him a captain’s commission for
his young brother.
Cavalier drew up the muster-roll of the regiment the same day, and gave
it to the marechal. It was to consist of seven hundred and twelve men,
forming fifteen companies, with sixteen captains, sixteen lieutenants, a
sergeant-major, and a surgeon-major.
While all this was happening, Roland, taking advantage of the suspension
of hostilities, was riding up and down the province as if he were
viceroy of the Cevennes, and wherever he appeared he had a magnificent
reception. Like Cavalier, he gave leave of absence and furnished
escorts, and held himself haughtily, sure that he too would soon be
negotiating treaties on terms of equality with marshals of France and
governors of provinces. But Roland was much mistaken: M. de Villars had
made great concessions to the popularity of Cavalier, but they were the
last he intended to make. So, instead of being in his turn summoned to
Nimes, or Uzes, to confer with M. de Villars, Roland merely received an
intimation from Cavalier that he desired to speak with him on important
business.
They met near Anduze, and Cavalier, faithful to the promise given to M.
de Villars, neglected no argument that he could think of to induce
Roland to follow his example; but Roland would listen to nothing. Then,
when Cavalier saw that arguments and promises were of no avail, he
raised his voice in anger; but Roland, laying his hand on his shoulder,
told him that his head was turned, that he should remember that he,
Roland, was his senior in command, and therefore bound by nothing that
had been promised in his name by his junior, and that he had registered
a vow in Heaven that nothing would persuade him to make peace unless
complete liberty of conscience were granted to all. The young Cevenol,
who was unaccustomed to such language, laid his hand on the hilt of his
sword, Roland, stepping back, drew his, and the consultation would have
ended in a duel if the prophets had not thrown themselves between them,
and succeeded in getting Roland to consent to one of their number, a man
much esteemed among the Huguenots, named Salomon, going back to Nimes
with Cavalier to learn from M. de Villars’ own mouth what the exact
terms were which Cavalier had accepted and now offered to Roland.
In a couple of hours Cavalier and Salomon set out together, and arrived
at Nimes on the 27th May, escorted by twenty-five men; they halted at
the tower of Magne, and the Protestants of the city came out to meet
them, bringing refreshments; then, after prayers and a hasty meal, they
advanced to the barracks and crossed the courtyards. The concourse of
people and the enthusiasm was no whit less than on Cavalier’s first
entry, more than three hundred persons kissing his hands and knees.
Cavalier was dressed on this occasion in a doublet of grey cloth, and a
beaver hat, laced with gold, and adorned with a white feather.
Cavalier and his travelling-companion went direct to the garden of the
Recollets, and hardly had they got there than MM. de Villars and de
Baville, accompanied by Lalande and Sandricourt, came out to meet them:
the conference lasted three hours, but all that could be learned of the
result was that Salomon had declared that his brethren would never lay
down their arms till full liberty of conscience had been secured to
them. In consequence of this declaration, it was decided that Cavalier
and his regiment should be despatched to Spain without delay, in order
to weaken the Calvinist forces to that extent; meantime Salomon was sent
back to Roland with a positive promise that if he would surrender, as
Cavalier had done, he would be granted the same conditions—that is to
say, receive a commission as colonel, have the right to name the
officers of his regiment, and receive a pension of 1200 livres. On
quitting the garden of the Recollets, Cavalier found as great a crowd as
ever waiting for him, and so closely did they press on him that two of
his men were obliged to ride before him with drawn sabres to clear a way
for him till the Montpellier road was reached. He lay that night at
Langlade, in order to rejoin his troops early next morning.
But during his absence things had happened among these men, who had
hitherto obeyed him blindly, which he little expected. He had left, as
usual, Ravanel in command; but hardly had he ridden away when Ravanel
began to take all kinds of precautions, ordering the men not to lay
aside their arms. The negotiations with M. de Villars had made him most
anxious; he looked upon all the promises given as snares, and he
regarded the compromise favoured by his chief as a defection on
Cavalier’s part. He therefore called all the officers and men together,
told them of his fears, and ended by imbuing them with his suspicions.
This was all the more easily done, as it was very well known that
Cavalier had joined the Huguenots less from devotion to the cause than
to avenge a private wrong, and on many occasions had given rise to the
remark that he had more genius than religion.
So, on getting back to Calvisson, the young chief found his principal
officers, Ravanel at their head, drawn up in the market-place, waiting
for him. As soon as he drew near they told him that they were determined
to know at once what were the conditions of the treaty he had signed
with the marechal; they had made up their minds to have a plain answer
without delay. Such a way of speaking to him was so strange and
unexpected, that Cavalier shrugged his shoulders and replied that such
matters were no business of theirs, being too high for their
intelligence; that it was his business to decide what course to take and
theirs to take it; it had always been so in the past, and with the help
of God and his own, Cavalier’s, goodwill, it should still be so in
future; and having so spoken, he told them to disperse. Ravanel upon
this came forward, and in the name of all the others said they would not
go away until they knew what orders Cavalier was about to give the
troops, that they might consult among themselves whether they should
obey them or not. This insubordination was too much for Cavalier’s
patience.
"The orders are," he said, "to put on the uniforms that are being made
for you, and to follow me to Portugal."
The effect of such words on men who were expecting nothing less than the
re-enactment of the Edict of Nantes, can be easily imagined; the words
"coward" and "traitor" could be distinguished above the murmurs, as
Cavalier noticed with increasing astonishment. Raising himself in his
stirrups, and glancing round with that look before which they had been
used to tremble, he asked in a voice as calm as if all the demons of
anger were not raging in his heart, "Who called Jean Cavalier traitor
and coward?"
"I," said Ravanel, crossing his arms on his breast.
Cavalier drew a pistol from his holsters, and striking those near him
with the butt end, opened a way towards his lieutenant, who drew his
sword; but at this moment the commissary-general, Vincel, and Captain
Cappon threw themselves between the two and asked the cause of the
quarrel.
"The cause," said Ravanel, "is that the Cadets of the Cross, led by the
’Hermit,’ have just knocked out the brains of two of our brethren, who
were coming to join us, and are hindering others from attending our
meetings to worship God: the conditions of the truce having been thus
broken, is it likely they will keep those of the treaty? We refuse to
accept the treaty."
"Sir," said Vincel, "if the ’Hermit’ has done what you say, it is
against the orders of the marachal, and the misdoer will be punished;
besides, the large number of strangers at present in Calvisson ought to
be sufficient proof that no attempt has been made to prevent the new
converts from coming to the town, and it seems to me that you have been
too easily led to believe everything that malicious people have told
you."
"I believe what I choose to believe," said Ravanel impatiently; "but
what I know and say is, that I shall never lay down arms till the king
grants us full liberty of conscience, permission to rebuild our places
of worship, and sends us back all prisoners and exiles."
"But, judging by your tone," said Cavalier, who had till now remained
silent while toying with his pistol, "you seem to be in command here;
have we changed, parts without my being aware?"
"It is possible," said Ravanel.
Cavalier burst out laughing.
"It seems to astonish you," said Ravanel, "but it is true. Make peace
for yourself, lay down what conditions suit you, sell yourself for
whatever you will bring; my only reply is, You are a coward and a
traitor. But as to the troops, they will not lay down arms except on the
conditions formulated by me."
Cavalier tried to get at Ravanel, but seeing from his paleness and his
smile that terrible things would happen if he reached his lieutenant,
Vincel and Cappon, backed by some Camisards, threw themselves before his
horse. Just then the whole band shouted with one voice, "No peace! no
peace! no reconciliation till our temples are restored!" Cavalier then
saw for the first time that things were more serious than he had
believed, but Vincel, Cappon, Berlie, and about twenty Camisards
surrounded the young chief and forced him to enter a house; it was the
house of Vincel.
They had hardly got indoors when the ’generale’ was sounded: resisting
all entreaties, Cavalier sprang to the door, but was detained by Berlie,
who said that the first thing he ought to do was to write M. de Villars
an account of what had happened, who would then take measures to put
things straight.
"You are right," said Cavalier; "as I have so many enemies, the general
might be told if I were killed that I had broken my word. Give me pen
and ink."
Writing materials were brought, and he wrote to M. de Villars.
"Here," he said, giving the letter unsealed to Vincel, "set out for
Nimes and give this to the marechal, and tell him, if I am killed in the
attempt I am about to make, I died his humble servant."
With these words, he darted out of the house and mounted his horse,
being met at the door by twelve to fifteen men who had remained faithful
to him. He asked them where Ravanel and his troops were, not seeing a
single Camisard in the streets; one of the soldiers answered that they
were probably still in town, but that they were moving towards Les
Garrigues de Calvisson. Cavalier set off at a gallop to overtake them.
In crossing the market-place he met Catinat, walking between two
prophets, one called Moses and the other Daniel Guy; Catinat was just
back from a visit to the mountains, so that he had taken no part in the
scene of insubordination that had so lately been enacted.
Cavalier felt a ray of hope; he was sure he could depend on Catinat as
on himself. He hurried to greet him, holding out his hand; but Catinat
drew back his.
"What does this mean?" cried Cavalier, the blood mounting to his
forehead.
"It means," answered Catinat, "that you are a traitor, and I cannot give
my hand to a traitor."
Cavalier gave a cry of rage, and advancing on Catinat, raised his cane
to strike him; but Moses and Daniel Guy threw themselves between, so
that the blow aimed at Catinat fell on Moses. At the same moment
Catinat, seeing Cavalier’s gesture, drew a pistol from his belt. As it
was at full cock, it went off in his hand, a bullet piercing Guy’s hat,
without, however, wounding him.
At the noise of the report shouts were heard about a hundred yards away.
It was the Camisards, who had been on the point of leaving the town, but
hearing the shot had turned back, believing that some of their brethren
were being murdered. On seeing them appear, Cavalier forgot Catinat, and
rode straight towards them. As soon as they caught sight of him they
halted, and Ravanel advanced before them ready for every danger.
"Brethren," he cried, "the traitor has come once more to tempt us.
Begone, Judas! You have no business here."
"But I have," exclaimed Cavalier. "I have to punish a scoundrel called
Ravanel, if he has courage to follow me."
"Come on, then," cried Ravanel, darting down a small side-street, "and
let us have done with it." The Camisards made a motion as if to follow
them, but Ravanel turning towards them ordered them to remain where they
were.
They obeyed, and thus Cavalier could see that, insubordinate as they had
been towards him, they were ready to obey another.
Just at the moment as he turned into the narrow street where the dispute
was to be settled once for all, Moses and Guy came up, and seizing the
bridle of his horse stopped him, while the Camisards who were on the
side of Cavalier surrounded Ravanel and forced him to return to his
soldiers. The troops struck up a psalm, and resumed their march, while
Cavalier was held back by force.
At last, however, the young Cevenol succeeded in breaking away from
those who surrounded him, and as the street by which the Camisards had
retired was blocked, he dashed down another. The two prophets suspecting
his intention, hurried after the troops by the most direct route, and
got up with them, just as Cavalier, who had made the circuit of the
town, came galloping across the plain to intercept their passage. The
troops halted, and Ravanel gave orders to fire. The first rank raised
their muskets and took aim, thus indicating that they were ready to
obey. But it was not a danger of this kind that could frighten Cavalier;
he continued to advance. Then Moses seeing his peril, threw himself
between the Camisards and him, stretching out his arms and shouting,
"Stop! stop! misguided men! Are you going to kill Brother Cavalier like
a highwayman and thief? You must pardon him, my brethren! you must
pardon him! If he has done wrong in the past, he will do better in
future."
Then those who had taken aim at Cavalier grounded their muskets, and
Cavalier changing menace for entreaty, begged them not to break the
promise that he had made in their name; whereupon the prophets struck up
a psalm, and the rest of the soldiers joining in, his voice was
completely drowned. Nevertheless, Cavalier did not lose heart, but
accompanied them on their march to Saint-Esteve, about a league farther
on, unable to relinquish all hope. On reaching Saint-Esteve the singing
ceased for a moment, and he made another attempt to recall them to
obedience. Seeing, however, that it was all in vain, he gave up hope,
and calling out, "At least defend yourselves as well as you can, for the
dragoons will soon be on you," he set his horse’s head towards the town.
Then turning to them for the last time, he said, "Brethren, let those
who love me follow me!" He pronounced these words in tones so full of
grief and affection that many were shaken in their resolution; but
Ravanel and Moses seeing the effect he had produced, began to shout,
"The sword of the Lord!" Immediately all the troops turned their back on
Cavalier except about forty men who had joined him on his first
appearance.
Cavalier went into a house near by, and wrote another letter to M. de
Villars, in which he told him what had just taken place, the efforts he
had made to win back his troops, and the conditions they demanded. He
ended by assuring him that he would make still further efforts, and
promised the marechal that he would keep him informed of everything that
went on. He then withdrew to Cardet, not venturing to return to
Calvisson.
Both Cavalier’s letters reached M. de Villars at the same time; in the
first impulse of anger aroused by this unexpected check, he issued the
following order:
"Since coming to this province and taking over the government by order
of the king, our sole thought has been how to put an end to the
disorders we found existing here by gentle measures, and to restore
peace and to preserve the property of those who had taken no part in the
disturbances. To that end we obtained His Majesty’s pardon for those
rebels who had, by the persuasion of their chiefs, been induced to lay
down their arms; the only condition exacted being that they should throw
themselves on the king’s clemency and beg his permission to expiate
their crime by adventuring their lives in his service. But, being
informed that instead of keeping the engagements they had made by
signing petitions, by writing letters, and by speaking words expressing
their intentions, some among them have been trying to delude the minds
of the people with false hopes of full liberty for the exercise of this
so-called Reformed religion, which there has never been any intention of
granting, but which we have always declared as clearly as we could, to
be contrary to the will of the king and likely to bring about great
evils for which it would be difficult to find a remedy, it becomes
necessary to prevent those who give belief to these falsehoods from
expecting to escape from well-deserved chastisement. We therefore
declare hereby that all religious assemblies are expressly forbidden
under the penalties proclaimed in the edicts and ordinances of His
Majesty, and that these will be more strictly enforced in the future
than in the past.
"Furthermore, we order all the troops under our command to break up such
assemblies by force, as having been always illegal, and we desire to
impress on the new converts of this province that they are to give their
obedience where it is due, and we forbid them to give any credence to
the false reports which the enemies of their repose are spreading
abroad. If they let themselves be led astray, they will soon find
themselves involved in troubles and misfortunes, such as the loss of
their lands, the ruin of their families, and the desolation of their
country; and we shall take care that the true authors of these
misfortunes shall receive punishment proportioned to their crime.
"MARECHAL DE VILLARS
"Given at Nimes the 27th day of May 1704"
This order, which put everything back upon the footing on which it had
been in the time of M. de Montrevel, had hardly been issued than
d’Aygaliers, in despair at seeing the result of so much labour destroyed
in one day, set off for the mountains to try and find Cavalier. He found
him at Cardet, whither, as we have said, he had retired after the day of
Calvisson. Despite the resolution which Cavalier had taken never to show
his face again to the marechal, the baron repeated to him so many times
that M. de Villars was thoroughly convinced that what had happened had
not been his fault, he having done everything that he could to prevent
it, that the young chief began to feel his self-confidence and courage
returning, and hearing that the marachal had expressed himself as very
much pleased with his conduct, to which Vincel had borne high testimony,
made up his mind to return to Nimes. They left Cardet at once, followed
by the forty men who had remained true to Cavalier, ten on horse and
thirty on foot, and arrived on the 31st May at Saint-Genies, whither M.
de Villars had come to meet them.
The assurances of d’Aygaliers were justified. The marechal received
Cavalier as if he were still the chief of a powerful party and able to
negotiate with him on terms of equality. At Cavalier’s request, in order
to prove to him that he stood as high in his good opinion as ever, the
marechal returned once more to gentle methods, and mitigated the
severity of his first proclamation by a second, granting an extension of
the amnesty:
"The principal chiefs of the rebels, with the greater number of their
followers, having surrendered, and having received the king’s pardon, we
declare that we give to all those who have taken up arms until next
Thursday, the 5th instant inclusive, the opportunity of receiving the
like pardon, by surrendering to us at Anduze, or to M. le Marquis de
Lalande at Alais, or to M. de Menon at Saint Hippolyte, or to the
commandants of Uzes, Nimes, and Lunel. But the fifth day passed, we
shall lay a heavy hand on all rebels, pillaging and burning all the
places which have given them refuge, provisions, or help of any kind;
and that they may not plead ignorance of this proclamation, we order it
to be publicly read and posted up in every suitable place.
"MARECHAL DE VILLARS
"At Saint-Genies, the 1st June 1704"
The next day, in order to leave no doubt as to his good intentions, the
marechal had the gibbets and scaffolds taken down, which until then had
been permanent erections.
At the same time all the Huguenots were ordered to make a last effort to
induce the Camisard chiefs to accept the conditions offered them by M.
de Villars. The towns of Alais, Anduze, Saint-Jean, Sauve,
Saint-Hippolyte, and Lasalle, and the parishes of Cros, Saint-Roman,
Manoblet, Saint-Felix, Lacadiere, Cesas, Cambo, Colognac, and Vabre were
ordered to send deputies to Durfort to confer as to the best means of
bringing about that peace which everyone desired. These deputies wrote
at once to M. de Villars to beg him to send them M. d’Aygaliers, and to
M. d’Aygaliers to request him to come.
Both consented to do as they were asked, and M. d’Aygaliers arrived at
Durfort on the 3rd of June 1704.
The deputies having first thanked him for the trouble which he had taken
to serve the common cause during the past year, resolved to divide their
assembly into two parts, one of which, was to remain permanently
sitting, while the other went to seek Roland and Ravanel to try and
obtain a cessation of hostilities. The deputies charged with this task
were ordered to make it quite clear to the two chiefs that if they did
not accept the proposals made by M. de Villars, the Protestants in
general would take up arms and hunt them down, and would cease to supply
them with the means of subsistence.
On hearing this, Roland made reply that the deputies were to go back at
once to those who sent them, and threatened, should they ever show him
their faces again, to fire on them.
This answer put an end to the assembly, the deputies dispersed, and
d’Aygaliers returned to the Marechal de Villars to make his report.
Hardly had he done this when a letter from Roland arrived, in which the
Camisard chief asked M. de Villars to grant him an interview, such as he
had granted to Cavalier. This letter was addressed to d’Aygaliers, who
immediately communicated its contents to the marechal, from whom he
received orders to set out at once to find Roland and to spare no pains
to bring him round.
D’Aygaliers, who was always indefatigable when working for his country,
started the same day, and went to a mountain about three-quarters of a
league from Anduze, where Roland awaited him. After a conference of two
hours, it was agreed that hostages should be exchanged and negotiations
entered upon.
Consequently, M. de Villars on his side sent Roland M. de Montrevel, an
officer commanding a battalion of marines, and M. de la Maison-Blanche,
captain of the Froulay regiment; while Roland in return sent M. de
Villars four of his principal officers with the title of
plenipotentiaries.
Unskilled in diplomacy as these envoys were, and laughable as they
appeared to contemporary historians, they received nevertheless the
marechal’s consent to the following conditions:
1. That Cavalier and Roland should each be placed in charge of a
regiment serving abroad, and that each of them should be allowed a
minister.
2. That all the prisoners should be released and the exiles recalled.
3. That the Protestants should be permitted to leave the kingdom,
taking their effects with them.
4. That those Camisards who desired to remain might do so, on giving
up their arms.
5. That those who were abroad might return.
6. That no one should be molested on account of his religion provided
everyone remained quietly at home.
7. That indemnities should be borne by the whole province, and not
exacted specially from the Protestants.
8. That a general amnesty should be granted to all without reserve.
These articles were laid before Roland and Ravanel by d’Aygaliers.
Cavalier, who from the day he went back to Nimes had remained in the
governor’s suite, asked leave to return with the baron, and was
permitted to do so. D’Aygaliers and he set out together in consequence
for Anduze, and met Roland and Ravanel about a quarter of a league from
the town, waiting to know the result of the negotiations. They were
accompanied by MM. de Montbel and de Maison-Blanche, the Catholic
hostages.
As soon as Cavalier and Roland met they burst out into recriminations
and reproaches, but through the efforts of d’Aygaliers they soon became
more friendly, and even embraced on parting.
But Ravanel was made of harder stuff: as soon as he caught sight of
Cavalier he called him "traitor," saying that for his part he would
never surrender till the Edict of Nantes was re-enacted; then, having
warned them that the governor’s promises were not to be trusted, and
having predicted that a day would come when they would regret their too
great confidence in him, he left the conference and rejoined his troops,
which, with those of Roland, were drawn up on a mountain about
three-quarters of a league distant.
The negotiators did not, however, despair. Ravanel had gone away, but
Roland had debated with them at some length, so they determined to speak
to "the brethren"—that is, to the troops under Roland and Ravanel, whose
headquarters at the moment were at Leuzies, in order that they might
know exactly what articles had been agreed on between Roland’s envoys
and the marechal. Those who made up their minds to take this step were,
Cavalier, Roland, Moise, Saint-Paul, Laforet, Maille, and d’Aygaliers.
We take the following account of what happened in consequence of this
decision from d’Aygaliers’ Memoirs:
"We had no sooner determined on this plan, than, anxious to carry it
out, we set off. We followed a narrow mountain path on the face of the
cliff which rose up to our right; to our left flowed the Gardon.
"Having gone about a league, we came in sight of the troops, about 3000
strong; an advanced post barred our way.
"Thinking it was placed there in our honour, I was advancing
unsuspiciously, when suddenly we found our road cut off by Camisards to
right and left, who threw themselves on Roland and forced him in among
their troops. Maille and Malplach were dragged from their horses. As to
Cavalier, who was somewhat behind, as soon as he saw people coming
towards him with uplifted sabres and shouting Traitor! he put spurs to
his horse and went off at full gallop, followed by some townspeople from
Anduze who had come with us, and who, now that they saw the reception we
met with, were ready to die with fear.
"I was too far forward to escape: five or six muskets rested on my
breast and a pistol pressed each ear; so I made up my mind to be bold. I
told the troopers to fire; I was willing to die in the service of my
prince, my country, and my religion, as well as for themselves, whom I
was trying to benefit by procuring them the king’s goodwill.
"These words, which I repeated several times in the midst of the
greatest uproar, gave them pause.
"They commanded me to retire, as they did not want to kill me. I said I
should do nothing of the kind: I was going into the middle of the troops
to defend Roland against the charge of treason, or be put to death
myself, unless I could convince them that what I had proposed to him and
Cavalier was for the good of the country, of our religion, and the
brethren; and having thus expostulated at the top of my voice against
thirty voices all trying to drown mine for about an hour, I offered to
fight the man who had induced them to oppose us.
"At this offer they pointed their muskets at me once more; but Maille,
Malplach, and some others threw themselves before me, and although they
were unarmed, had enough influence to hinder my being insulted; I was
forced, however, to retreat.
"In leaving, I warned them that they were about to bring great
misfortunes on the province, whereupon a man named Claris stepped out
from among the troops, and approaching me exclaimed, ’Go on, sir, and
God bless you! We know that you mean well, and were the first to be
taken in. But go on working for the good of the country, and God will
bless you.’"
D’Aygaliers returned to the marechal, who, furious at the turn things
had taken, resolved instantly to break off all negotiations and have
recourse once more to measures of severity. However, before actually
carrying out this determination, he wrote the following letter to the
king:
"SIRE,—It is always my glory to execute faithfully your Majesty’s
orders, whatever those orders may be; but I should have been able, on
many occasions since coming here, to display my zeal for your Majesty’s
service in other ways if I had not had to deal with madmen on whom no
dependence could be placed. As soon as we were ready to attack them,
they offered to submit, but a little later changed their minds again.
Nothing could be a greater proof of madness than their hesitation to
accept a pardon of which they were unworthy, and which was so generously
offered by your Majesty. If they do not soon make up their minds, I
shall bring them back to the paths of duty by force, and thus restore
this province to that state of peace which has been disturbed by these
fools."
The day after writing this letter to the king, Roland sent Maille to M.
de Villars to beg him to wait till Saturday and Sunday the 7th and the
8th June were over, before resorting to severity, that being the end of
the truce. He gave him a solemn promise that he would, in the interval,
either bring in his troops to the last man, or would himself surrender
along with a hundred and fifty followers. The marechal consented to wait
till Saturday morning, but as soon as Saturday arrived he gave orders to
attack the Camisards, and the next day led a considerable body of troops
to Carnoulet, intending to take the Huguenots by surprise, as word had
been brought that they were all gathered there. They, however, received
intelligence of his plan, and evacuated the village during the night.
The village had to pay dearly for its sin of hospitality; it was
pillaged and burnt down: the miquelets even murdered two women whom they
found there, and d’Aygaliers failed to obtain any satisfaction for this
crime. In this manner M. de Villars kept the fatal promise he had given,
and internecine war raged once more.
Furious at having missed the Camisards, de Menon having heard from his
scouts that Roland was to sleep next night at the chateau de Prade, went
to M. de Villars and asked leave to conduct an expedition against the
chief. He was almost sure of taking Roland by surprise, having procured
a guide whose knowledge of the country was minute. The marechal gave him
carte blanche. In the evening Menon set out with two hundred grenadiers.
He had already put three-quarters of the way behind him without being
discovered, when an Englishman met them by chance. This man was serving
under Roland, but had been visiting his sweetheart in a neighbouring
village, and was on his way home when he fell among Menon’s grenadiers.
Without a thought for his own safety, he fired off his gun, shouting,
"Fly! fly! The royals are upon you!"
The sentinels took up the cry, Roland jumped out of bed, and, without
staying for clothes or horse, ran off in his shirt, escaping by a
postern gate which opened on the forest just as de Menon entered by
another. He found Roland’s bed still warm, and took possession of his
clothes, finding in a coat pocket a purse containing thirty-five Louis,
and in the stables three superb horses. The Camisards answered this
beginning of hostilities by a murder. Four of them, thinking they had
reasons for displeasure against one of M. de Baville’s subordinates,
named Daude, who was both mayor and magistrate; at Le Vigan, hid in a
corn-field which he had to pass on his way back from La Valette, his
country place. Their measures were successful: Daude came along just as
was expected, and as he had not the slightest suspicion of the impending
danger, he continued conversing with M. de Mondardier, a gentleman of
the neighbourhood who had asked for the; hand of Daude’s daughter in
marriage that very day. Suddenly he found himself surrounded by four
men, who, upbraiding him for his exactions and cruelties, shot him twice
through the head with a pistol. They offered no violence to M. de
Mondardier except to deprive him of his laced hat and sword. The day on
which M. de Villars heard of its murder he set a price on the heads of
Roland, Ravanel, and Catinat. Still the example set by Cavalier, joined
to the resumption of hostilities, was not without influence on the
Camisards; every day letters arrived from single troopers offering to
lay down their arms, and in one day thirty rebels came in and put
themselves into Lalande’s hands, while twenty surrendered to Grandval;
these were accorded not only pardon, but received a reward, in hopes
that they might be able to induce others to do like them; and on the
15th June eight of the troops which had abandoned Cavalier at Calvisson
made submission; while twelve others asked to be allowed to return to
their old chief to follow him wherever he went. This request was at once
granted: they were sent to Valabregues, where they found forty-two of
their old comrades, amongst whom were Duplan and Cavalier’s young
brother, who had been ordered there a few days before. As they arrived
they were given quarters in the barracks, and received good pay—the
chiefs forty sous a day, and the privates ten. So they felt as happy as
possible, being well fed and well lodged, and spent their time
preaching, praying, and psalm-singing, in season and out of season. All
this, says La Baume, was so disagreeable to the inhabitants of the
place, who were Catholics, that if they had not been guarded by the
king’s soldiers they would have been pitched into the Rhone.
CHAPTER V
Meantime the date of Cavalier’s departure drew near. A town was to be
named in which he was to reside at a sufficient distance from the
theatre of war to prevent the rebels from depending on him any more; in
this town he was to organise his regiment, and as soon as it was
complete it was to go, under his command, to Spain, and fight for the
king. M. de Villars was still on the same friendly terms with him,
treating him, not like a rebel, but according to his new rank in the
French army. On the 21st June he told him that he was to get ready to
leave the next day, and at the same time he handed him an advance on
their future pay—fifty Louis for himself, thirty for Daniel Billard, who
had been made lieutenant-colonel in the place of Ravanel, ten for each
captain, five for each lieutenant, two for each sergeant, and one for
each private. The number of his followers had then reached one hundred
and fifty, only sixty of whom were armed. M. de Vassiniac, major in the
Fimarcn regiment, accompanied them with fifty dragoons and fifty of the
rank and file from Hainault.
All along the road Cavalier and his men met with a courteous reception;
at Macon they found orders awaiting them to halt. Cavalier at once wrote
to M. de Chamillard to tell him that he had things of importance to
communicate to him, and the minister sent a courier of the Cabinet
called Lavallee to bring Cavalier to Versailles. This message more than
fulfilled all Cavalier’s hopes: he knew that he had been greatly talked
about at court, and in spite of his natural modesty the reception he had
met with at Nimes had given him new ideas, if not of his own merit, at
least of his own importance. Besides, he felt that his services to the
king deserved some recognition.
The way in which Cavalier was received by Chamillard did not disturb
these golden dreams: the minister welcomed the young colonel like a man
whose worth he appreciated, and told him that the great lords and ladies
of the court were not less favourably disposed towards him. The next day
Chamillard announced to Cavalier that the king desired to see him, and
that he was to keep himself prepared for a summons to court. Two days
later, Cavalier received a letter from the minister telling him to be at
the palace at four o’clock in the afternoon, and he would place him on
the grand staircase, up which the king would pass.
Cavalier put on his handsomest clothes, for the first time in his life
perhaps taking trouble with his toilet. He had fine features, to which
his extreme youth, his long fair hair, and the gentle expression of his
eyes lent much charm. Two years of warfare had given him a martial air;
in short, even among the most elegant, he might pass as a beau cavalier.
At three o’clock he reached Versailles, and found Chamillard waiting for
him; all the courtiers of every rank were in a state of great
excitement, for they had learned that the great Louis had expressed a
wish to meet the late Cevenol chief, whose name had been pronounced so
loud and so often in the mountains of Languedoc that its echoes had
resounded in the halls of Versailles. Cavalier had not been mistaken in
thinking that everyone was curious to see him, only as no one yet knew
in what light the king regarded him, the courtiers dared not accost him
for fear of compromising their dignity; the manner of his reception by
His Majesty would regulate the warmth of his reception by everyone else.
Met thus by looks of curiosity and affected silence, the young colonel
felt some embarrassment, and this increased when Chamillard, who had
accompanied him to his appointed place, left him to rejoin the king.
However, in a few moments he did what embarrassed people so often do,
hid his shyness under an air of disdain, and, leaning on the balustrade,
crossed his legs and played with the feather of his hat.
When half an hour had passed in this manner, a great commotion was
heard: Cavalier turned in the direction from which it came, and
perceived the king just entering the vestibule. It was the first time he
had seen him, but he recognized him at once. Cavalier’s knees knocked
together and his face flushed.
The king mounted the stairs step by step with his usual dignity,
stopping from time to time to say a word or make a sign with head or
hand. Behind him, two steps lower, came Chamillard, moving and stopping
as the king moved and stopped, and answering the questions which His
Majesty put to him in a respectful but formal and precise manner.
Reaching the level on which Cavalier stood, the king stopped under
pretext of pointing out to Chamillard a new ceiling which Le Brun had
just finished, but really to have a good look at the singular man who
had maintained a struggle against two marshals of France and treated
with a third on equal terms. When he had examined him quite at his ease,
he turned to Chamillard, pretending he had only just caught sight of the
stranger, and asked:
"Who is this young gentleman?"
"Sire," answered the minister, stepping forward to present him to the
king, "this is Colonel Jean Cavalier."
"Ah yes," said the king contemptuously, "the former baker of Anduze!"
And shrugging his shoulders disdainfully, he passed on.
Cavalier on his side had, like Chamillard, taken a step forward, when
the scornful answer of the great king changed him into a statue. For an
instant he stood motionless and pale as death, then instinctively he
laid his hand on his sword, but becoming conscious that he was lost if
he remained an instant longer among these people, whom not one of his
motions escaped, although they pretended to despise him too much to be
aware of his presence, he dashed down the staircase and through the
hall, upsetting two or three footmen who were in his way, hurried into
the garden, ran across it at full speed, and regaining his room at the
hotel, threw himself on the floor, where he rolled like a maniac,
uttering cries of rage, and cursing the hour when, trusting to the
promises of M. de Villars, he had abandoned the mountains where he was
as much a king as Louis XIV at Versailles. The same evening he received
orders to leave Paris and rejoin his regiment at Macon. He therefore set
out the next morning, without seeing M. de Chamillard again.
Cavalier on arriving at Macon found that his comrades had had a visit
from M. d’Aygaliers, who had come again to Paris, in the hope of
obtaining more from the king than M. de Villars could or would grant.
Cavalier, without telling his comrades of the strange manner in which
the king had received him, gave them to understand that he was beginning
to fear that not only would the promises they had received be broken,
but that some strange trick would be played upon them.
Thereupon these men, whose chief and oracle he had been for so long,
asked him what they ought to do; Cavalier replied that if they would
follow him, their best course and his would be to take the first
opportunity of gaining the frontier and leaving the country. They all
declared themselves ready to follow him anywhere. This caused Cavalier a
new pang of regret, for he could not help recollecting that he had once
had under his command fifteen hundred men like these.
The next day Cavalier and his comrades set out on their march without
knowing whither they were being taken, not having been able to obtain
any information as to their destination from their escort—a silence
which confirmed them in their resolution. As soon, therefore, as they
reached Onnan, Cavalier declared that he considered that the looked-for
opportunity had arrived, asking them if they were still in the same
mind: they returned that they would do whatever he advised. Cavalier
then ordered them to hold themselves in readiness, Daniel offered up a
prayer, and the prayer ended, the whole company deserted in a body, and,
crossing Mont Belliard, entered Porentruy, and took the road to
Lausanne.
Meantime d’Aygaliers, in his turn, arrived at Versailles, with letters
from M. de Villars for the Duke of Beauvilliers, president of the king’s
council, and for Chamillard. The evening of his arrival he delivered
these letters to those to whom they were addressed, and both gentlemen
promised to present him to the king.
Four days later, Chamillard sent word to d’Aygaliers that he was to be
next day at the door of the king’s chamber at the time when the council
entered. D’Aygaliers was punctual, the king appeared at the usual hour,
and as he paused before d’Aygaliers, Chamillard came forward and said:
"Baron d’Aygaliers, sire."
"I am very glad to see you, sir," said the king, "for I am very much
pleased with the zeal you have displayed in Languedoc in my service—very
much pleased indeed."
"Sire," answered d’Aygaliers, "I consider myself most unfortunate in
that I have been able to accomplish nothing deserving of the gracious
words which your Majesty deigns to address me, and I pray God of His
grace to grant me in the future an opportunity of proving my zeal and
loyalty in your Majesty’s service more clearly than hitherto."
"Never mind, never mind," said the king. "I repeat, sir, that I am very
much pleased with what you have done."
And he entered the room where the council was waiting.
D’Aygaliers went away only half satisfied: he had not come so far only
to receive commendation from the king, but in the hope of obtaining some
concession for his brethren; but with Louis XIV it was impossible either
to intercede or complain, one could only wait.