A PHILOSOPHER AND A SOLDIER
Coligny stopped at the beginning of Rue St. Jacques, before the low door
of a house of mean exterior. He knocked: first a wicket in the door was
opened, and then the door itself, when the invisible sentinel had
recognized the admiral.
Gabriel, following in the steps of his noble guide, passed through a
long dark passage-way, and ascended three flights of worm-eaten stairs.
When they were almost under the roof, Coligny knocked three times with
his foot at the door of the highest and most wretched-looking apartment
in the whole house. The door opened, and they went in.
They found themselves in a room of considerable size, but gloomy, and
quite bare. Two narrow windows--one looking upon Rue St. Jacques, and
the other upon a back alley--admitted only a very uncertain light. There
was no furniture save four stools and an oak table with twisted legs.
At the admiral's entrance, two men, who seemed to be expecting him, rose
to greet him; a third remained discreetly apart, standing at the front
window, and merely bowed low to Coligny from that distance.
"Theodore," said the admiral to the two men who had welcomed him, "and
you, Captain, I have brought with me to present to you a friend, who is
at all events to be your friend--our friend--hereafter, if he cannot yet
be so called."
The two strangers bowed silently to Vicomte d'Exmès. Then the younger,
he who was called Theodore, began to talk with Coligny in a low tone,
and with much animation. Gabriel walked away a few steps to leave them
more at liberty, and was thus able to scrutinize at his leisure the men
to whom the admiral had presented him, but whose names even he did not
know.
The captain had the strongly marked features and determined bearing of a
man of resolution and action. He was tall and dark and sinewy. One
needed not to be a keen observer to read audacity in his expression;
eager, burning zeal, in the fire of his eyes; and an energetic, forceful
will, in his sternly compressed lips.
The companion of this haughty adventurer was rather more like a
courtier; he was a graceful cavalier with a well-formed and jolly face,
a keen glance, and refined and easy bearing. His dress, which was
strictly in accord with the latest fashion, was in strong contrast with
the garb of the captain, which was simple almost to the point of
austerity.
As for the third individual, who had remained standing at some distance
from the others, his striking countenance could but attract notice
despite his attitude of reserve; his broad forehead and the piercing
keenness of his eye were enough to indicate to the least observant the
man of thought, and, let us say at once, the man of genius.
Coligny, having exchanged a few words with his friend, drew near
Gabriel.
"I beg your pardon," said he; "but I am not the only master here, and I
had to consult my associates before disclosing to you where and in whose
company you are."
"Am I to know now!" asked Gabriel.
"If you wish, my friend."
"Where am I, pray?"
"In the poor chamber where the son of the cooper of Noyon, Jean Calvin,
held the first secret meetings of those of the Reformed religion, and
whence he almost had to march to the stake. But to-day he is at Geneva,
triumphant and almost omnipotent; the crowned heads of the world have to
reckon with him; and the memory of him alone is enough to make the damp
walls of this wretched hole more glorious than the golden arabesques of
the Louvre."
At the mention of the great name of Calvin, Gabriel bared his head.
Although the impetuous youth had hardly concerned himself hitherto about
matters of religion or morals, yet he would have been far behind his age
if the austere and toilsome life, the sublime and awe-inspiring
character, the bold and imperious doctrines of the law-maker of the
Reformed religion had not more than once engrossed his thoughts.
However, he rejoined calmly,--
"And who are these whom I see around me in the venerated master's
chamber?"
"His disciples," was the admiral's reply,--"Theodore de Bèze, his pen;
La Renaudie, his sword."
Gabriel saluted the charming writer who was to be the historian of the
Reformed Church, and the adventurous soldier who was to be the abettor
of the Tumulte d'Amboise.
Theodore de Bèze returned Gabriel's salutation with the courteous grace
which was natural to him, and said with a pleasant smile,--
"Monsieur le Vicomte d'Exmès, although your introduction here has been
accompanied with so many precautions, pray do not look upon us as very
dark and dangerous conspirators. I hasten to assure you that if the
leaders of our sect meet secretly here three times a week, it is only to
exchange information as to the religion, and to receive, it may be, a
neophyte, who, as he believes in our principles, asks to share our
perils; or some man whom on account of his personal qualities we are
anxious to win over to our cause. We are obliged to the admiral for
bringing you hither, Monsieur le Vicomte, for you are surely one of the
latter class."
"And I, gentlemen, am of the former," said the stranger, who had thus
far stood aloof; and as he spoke, he came forward rather shyly and
modestly. "I am one of those humble dreamers upon whom the light of your
principles has fallen in his darkness, and who longs for a closer view
of them."
"But it will not be long, Ambroise, ere you will be numbered among the
most illustrious of our brotherhood," said La Renaudie, speaking for the
first time. "Yes, gentlemen," he continued, turning to Coligny and De
Bèze, "he whom I now present to you, still an humble practitioner, it
is true, and still young, as you see, will nevertheless be in due time,
I will answer for it, one of the bright and shining lights of the
religion, for he is a great worker and a profound thinker; and we may
well exult that he has sought us out of his own will, for we shall point
with pride to the name on our rolls of the surgeon Ambroise Paré."
"Oh, Monsieur le Capitaine!" exclaimed Ambroise.
"By whom has Master Ambroise Paré been instructed in our principles?"
asked Théodore de Bèze.
"By Chaudieu the minister, who introduced me to Monsieur de la
Renaudie," Ambroise replied.
"And have you already made the solemn abjuration?"
"Not yet," replied the surgeon. "I desire to be entirely sincere, and
not to take any vows except upon thorough acquaintance with the matter.
I confess that I still have some doubts; and certain points are still
too obscure forme to be able to join you irrevocably and without
reservation. It is to have these cleared away that I have longed to meet
the leading men of the religion, and have made up my mind to go, if
necessary, to Calvin himself; for truth and liberty are the ruling
passions of my life."
"Well said!" cried the admiral; "and be assured, Master, that no one of
us could ever wish to strike a blow at your rare and proud independence
of thought."
"What did I tell you?" rejoined La Renaudie, triumphantly. "Will he not
be an invaluable conquest for our faith? I have seen Ambroise Paré in
his library; I have seen him at the bedside of the sick (yes, I have
seen him too on the battlefield); and everywhere, whether combating
error and prejudice, or caring for the wounds and sufferings of his
fellow-creatures, he is always thus,--calm, cool, superior to the
vicissitudes of fortune, always master of others and of himself."
Gabriel here interposed, much moved by what he saw and heard.
"May I be allowed one word? I know now where I am; and I can imagine
what motive induced my generous friend, Monsieur de Coligny, to bring me
to this house, where are met those whom King Henri calls his heretics,
and looks upon as his mortal enemies. But I have certainly more need to
be educated in the faith than has Master Ambroise Paré. Like him, I
have been a man of action; but, alas! I have done but little thinking,
and he would be doing a great service to a new inquirer into all these
new ideas, if he would consent to enlighten me as to the reasons or
motives which have inclined his noble intellect to the Reformed sect."
"No interested motive at all," replied Ambroise Paré; "for to succeed
in my profession it would be for my interest to conform to the belief of
the court and the princes. So it is not interested motives, but the
force of reason, Monsieur le Vicomte, as you suggest: and if the
illustrious persons before whom I am now speaking authorize me so to do,
I will try to set forth my reasons in a few words."
"Go on! go on!" cried Coligny, La Renaudie, and Theodore de Bèze at
once.
"I will be brief," rejoined Ambroise, "for my time does not belong to
me. In the first place, I tried to disentangle the leading idea of the
Reform from all theories and formulas. The brushwood once cut away,
these are the principles which I laid bare, for which I would most
assuredly submit to persecution in every form."
Gabriel was listening with admiration which he made no attempt to
conceal, to this disinterested expounder of the truth.
Ambroise Paré continued.
"Religious and political domination, the Church and royalty, have
hitherto substituted their regulations and their laws for the will and
reasoning of the individual. The priest says to every man, 'Believe
this;' and the prince, 'Do thus and so.' Now, matters have gone on in
this way so long that men's minds remained as the minds of babes, and
had perforce to lean upon this double discipline to make their way
through life. But now we _feel_ that we are strong, and hence we _are_.
Nevertheless the prince and the priest, the Church and the king, are
unwilling to lay down one jot of the authority which has become a
principle of existence with them. It is against this anachronism of
iniquity that the Reformed religion _protests_, in my view. Hereafter
let every soul examine carefully its belief, and reason out its
submission to this domination; and then I believe we shall see the
regeneration to which our efforts are devoted. Am I wrong, gentlemen?"
"No, but you go too far and too fast," said Theodore de Bèze; "in this
bold way of mingling politics and moral questions--"
"Ah! it is that very boldness which attracts me," Gabriel interrupted.
"But it is not boldness; it is logic!" rejoined Ambroise Paré. "How can
that which is fair and just in the Church not be equally so in the
State? How can you disavow as a rule of action that which you admit as a
rule of thought?"
"There is the spirit of revolution in the bold words you have uttered,
Master," cried Coligny, thoughtfully.
"Of revolution?" Ambroise coolly rejoined. "Why, I am talking about
revolution."
The three leaders looked at one another in surprise. Their looks seemed
to say, "This man is much stronger even than we supposed."
Gabriel did not forget for a moment the engrossing anxiety of his whole
life; but he was now applying to it what he had just heard, and was lost
in thought.
Theodore de Bèze said most earnestly to the outspoken surgeon,--
"It is absolutely necessary that you should join us. What do you ask?"
"Nothing more than the privilege of conversing with you now and then,
and of submitting to your intelligence and knowledge such difficulties
as I still encounter."
"You shall have more than that," said Theodore de Bèze; "you shall
correspond directly with Calvin."
"Such an honor for me!" cried Ambroise Paré, flushing with delight.
"Yes, it is essential that you should know him, and he you," rejoined
the admiral. "Such a disciple as you are deserves a master like him. You
hand your letters to your friend La Renaudie, and we will see that they
reach Geneva. We will also hand you his replies. They will not be long
in coming. You have heard of Calvin's extraordinary powers of
application; and you will be satisfied."
"Ah," said Ambroise Paré, "you give me my reward before I have done
anything to merit it. How have I deserved so great a favor?"
"By being what you are, my friend," said La Renaudie. "I knew that you
would win their hearts at the first stroke."
"Oh, thank you, thank you a thousand times!" Ambroise responded. "But,"
he added, "I regret to say that I must leave you, there are so many
patients awaiting me."
"Go, go!" said Théodore de Bèze; "your reasons are too sacred for us
to try to keep you. Go! Do what is right as you believe what is true."
"But as you leave us," Coligny interposed, "rest assured that you leave
none behind you but friends, or, as we say of those of our religion,
'brothers.'"
Thus they took leave of him heartily and cordially; and Gabriel, warmly
pressing his hand, was not behindhand in this friendly parting.
Ambroise Paré went his way, with joy and pride in his heart.
"Truly one of the elect!" cried Théodore de Bèze.
"What scorn for the commonplace!" said La Renaudie.
"What uncalculating, unreserved devotion to the cause of humanity!" said
Coligny.
"Alas!" rejoined Gabriel, "how paltry must my selfishness appear beside
such self-abnegation, Monsieur l'Amiral! I do not, like Ambroise Paré,
subordinate facts and persons to ideas and principles; but on the
contrary, ideas and principles to facts and persons. The Reformed
religion will be for me, as you know too well, not an end, but a means.
In your noble, unselfish struggle I should take part to serve my own
purposes. I feel that my motives are too personal and selfish for me to
dare to defend so pure and holy a cause, and you would do very well at
this moment to spurn me from your ranks as unworthy to serve therein."
"Surely you traduce yourself, Monsieur d'Exmès," said Theodore de
Bèze. "Even though you should obey less exalted impulses than those of
Ambroise Paré, still the ways of the Lord are many, and one does not
find the truth by travelling on one road to the exclusion of all
others."
"Yes," said La Renaudie, "we very seldom listen to such professions of
faith as that you have just heard, when we address to those whom we
wish to enlist in our cause the question, 'What do you ask?'"
"Oh, well," Gabriel responded with a sad smile; "to that question
Ambroise Paré answered: 'I ask whether justice and right are really on
your side.' Do you know what my reply would be?"
"No," Théodore de Bèze replied; "but we are ready to answer you on
every point."
"I should ask," Gabriel rejoined, "'Are you sure that you have on your
side sufficient material power and sufficient members to make a good
fight, even if not to conquer?'"
Once more the three enthusiasts exchanged looks of wonder. But their
wonder had not the same meaning as before.
Gabriel looked at them in gloomy silence. Theodore de Bèze, after a
pause, replied,--
"Whatever may be the feeling that prompts that inquiry, Monsieur
d'Exmès, I agreed in advance to answer you on every point, and I will
keep my promise. We have with us not only common-sense, but strength as
well, thank God! The progress of our principles has been rapid and
undeniable. Three years ago a Reformed church was founded at Paris; and
the great cities of the kingdom--Blois, Tours, Poitiers, Marseilles, and
Rouen--all have churches of their own. You can see for yourself,
Monsieur d'Exmès, the enormous crowds which are attracted by our
meetings at the Pré-aux-Clercs. People, nobility, and courtiers give up
their pleasure-making to come and sing with us Clement Marot's French
hymns. We intend next year to determine our numbers by a public
procession; but at the present time, I venture to say that we have a
fifth of the population with us. We may therefore without presumption
call ourselves a party, and may reckon, I think, upon inspiring our
friends with confidence, our enemies with dismay."
"That being so," said Gabriel, coolly, "I may very possibly before long
enrol myself among the former and assist you to combat the latter."
"But suppose you had found us not so strong?" asked La Renaudie.
"Then I confess that I should have sought other allies," replied
Gabriel, still firmly and calmly.
La Renaudie and Theodore de Bèze both made a movement of astonishment.
"Ah!" cried Coligny, "do not judge him, my friends, too hastily or too
harshly. I have seen him at work at the siege of St. Quentin; and when
one puts his life in peril, as he did there, it bespeaks no ordinary
soul. But I know that he has a holy and terrible duty to perform, which
leaves no part of his devotion at his own disposal."
"And in default of my devotion, I would like to offer you at least my
sincerest aid," said Gabriel. "But in very truth I cannot give myself up
to your service absolutely and without consideration; for I am devoted
to a necessary and formidable task, which has been imposed upon me by
the wrath of God and the wickedness of man, and while that task remains
unfinished, I beg you to pardon me, for I am not the arbiter of my own
fate. The destiny of another takes precedence of mine at all times, and
wherever I may be."
"One may devote oneself to a man as well as to an idea," said Theodore
de Bèze.
"And in such a case," added Coligny, "we shall be happy, my friend, to
serve you, just as we shall be proud to avail ourselves of your
services."
"Our good wishes will go with you; and we will stand ready to assist you
in case of need," said La Renaudie.
"Ah! you are heroes and saints as well," cried Gabriel.
"But take care, young man," said the stern La Renaudie, in his familiar
and yet noble language,--"take care, when once we have called you our
brother, to be worthy of the name. We may admit a private devotion into
our ranks; but the heart sometimes deceives itself. Are you perfectly
certain, young man, that when you believe yourself to be entirely
devoted to thoughts of another, no personal consideration whatever has
its influence on your actions? In the object which you are striving to
accomplish, are you absolutely and truly disinterested? Are you, in
short, urged on by no passion of your own, though it may be the most
generous and worthy of passions?"
"Yes," added Theodore de Bèze, "we do not ask for your secrets; but
search your heart, and tell us that if you were justified in revealing
to us all its feelings and all its plans, you would not feel the least
embarrassment in so doing, and we will believe your word."
"In speaking thus, my dear friend," said the admiral, in his turn, "it
is to impress upon you that a pure cause must be upheld with clean
hands; otherwise one would only bring misfortune upon his cause and
himself."
Gabriel listened to and looked at the three men one after another, who
were as stern to others as to themselves, and who, standing around with
keen, serious mien, were questioning him as friends and judges at once.
At their words he turned pale and red by turns.
He questioned his own conscience. Being a man of impulse and action, he
was doubtless too little accustomed to reflect and inquire into his own
motives. At this moment he asked himself in alarm, whether in his filial
devotion his love for Madame de Castro was not an element of very great
weight; whether he was not at heart as anxious to learn the secret of
Diane's birth as to procure the old count's liberty; whether, in short,
in this matter of life or death he was really as unselfish as he must be
according to Coligny to deserve God's favor.
Fearful doubt!--whether by some selfish mental reservation he might not
compromise his father's welfare in the sight of God.
He shuddered in anxious uncertainty. A circumstance, seemingly
unimportant, awoke his nature to action once more.
Eleven o'clock struck from the church of St. Severin.
In an hour he would be in the king's presence.
With a firm voice he said to the leaders of the Reformed sect:--
"You are men of the Golden Age; and those who are most irreproachable in
their own sight find their self-esteem debased and saddened when they
compare themselves with your ideal. Yet it is not possible that all of
your party should be such as you are. That you, who are the head and the
heart of the religion, should keep a close and strict watch upon your
purposes and your acts is necessary and beneficial; but if I throw
myself into your cause, it will not be as a leader, but as a common
soldier simply. Stains upon the soul only are indelible; those upon the
hand may be washed away. I will be your hand,--that's all. I venture to
ask, Have you the right to refuse the aid of this bold and daring hand?"
"No," said Coligny; "and we accept it here and now, my friend."
"And I will stake my life that it will rest upon the hilt of your sword
as pure and unstained as it is valiant," added Theodore de Bèze.
"The very hesitation," said La Renaudie, "which our rather rough and
exacting words caused in your scrupulous heart is our sufficient
guarantee. We know how to judge men's characters."
"Thanks, gentlemen," said Gabriel,--"thanks from my heart for not
depriving me of the confidence of which I am so much in need in the hard
task which I have before me; thanks to you especially, Monsieur
l'Amiral, who have thus, as you promised, furnished me in advance with
the means of punishing a breach of faith, even if committed by an
anointed king. Now I am obliged to leave you, gentlemen, and I will say,
not adieu, but _au revoir_. Although I may be of those who obey the
course of events rather than abstract ideas, I believe, nevertheless,
that the seeds you have sown to-day will bear fruit hereafter."
"We hope so, for our own sakes," said Theodore de Bèze.
"I must not hope so for my sake," rejoined Gabriel; "for, as I have
avowed, it will be only bitter misfortune which will drive me to adopt
your cause. Adieu once more, gentlemen; I must now go to the Louvre."
"I will go with you," said Coligny. "I must repeat to Henri II. in your
presence what I have already told him once in your absence. Kings have
but short memories; and we must not allow this one to forget or to deny.
I will go with you."
"I should not have ventured to ask this favor of you, Monsieur
l'Amiral," cried Gabriel; "but I accept your offer most gratefully."
"Let us go, then," said Coligny.
As soon as they had left Calvin's chamber, Theodore took his tablets,
and wrote these names:--
Ambroise Paré,
Gabriel, Vicomte d'Exmès.
"It seems to me," said La Renaudie, "that you are a little hasty in
enrolling these two men among us. They have made no promises whatever."
"They are ours," replied De Bèze. "One is in search of the truth, and
the other fleeing from injustice. I tell you they are ours, and I shall
write Calvin to that effect."
"This will have been a great day for the religion, then."
"Indeed it will," said Theodore; "we shall have made the conquest of a
profound philosopher and a valiant soldier,--a mighty brain and a strong
arm, a winner of battles and a sower of ideas. You are right; it is
really a great day."