Smyrna times., 1869-08-25
THE EVE OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW.

Samuel Smiles in his 'Huguenots'' thus de-
scrbes the events of this memorable night:
Between two and three clock in the morn.
ing of the oath of August, 1872, as the king
sat in his chamber with his mother and the
Duke of Anjou, the great bell Of the church of
st. Auxerrois rang to early prayer. 1t was the
arranged signal for the massacre to begin AL
most Immediately after, the first pistol-shotYas
heard. Three hundred of the royal guard, Who
had been held in readiness during the night,
rushed out into the streets, shouting For God
and the King To distinguish themselves in
the darkness, they wore a white sash on their
left arm, and white cross in their hats
Before leaving the palace, party of the
guard murdered the retinue of the young King |
of Navarro then the guests of Charles TX. in |
the Louvre. Tney had come in the train of
their chief, to be present at the celebration of
his marriage with the sister of the King of
France. One by one they were called from
their rooms, marched down unarmed into the
quadrangle, where they were hewed down be-
fore the very eyes of their royal host. A more
perhdious butchery is probably not to be found
recorded in history.
At the same time, mischief was afoot
throughout Paris. LIE Charron, provost of the
merchants, and Marcel, his ancient colleague,
had mustered large number of desperadoes,
to whom respective quarters had been previous
ly assigned, and they now hastened to enter up
on their frightful mornings work. The Duke
of Guise determined to anticipate all others in
the murder of Coligny: Fastening to his ho-
tel, the Dukes party burst In the outer door,
and the admiral was reused from his slumbers
by the shots fired at his followers In the court
yard below. lie roso from his couch, and
though scarce able to stand, fled to an upper
chamber. There he was tracked by his assas-
sins, who stabbed him to death as he stood
leaning against the wall. His body was then
thrown out of the window into the courtyard.
The Duke of Guise, who had been waiting i'm
, patiently below, hurried up to the corpse, and
e wiping the blood from the admiral face, said
It know hint is he;' then, spurning the
W body with his foot, he called out to his follow
'e ers, Courage, comrades, we have begun well
now for the rest; the king commands it. TheI
" they rushed out again into the street.
- Firing was now heard In every quartz
le throughout Paris. The houses of the Hugue
= nots, which had long been marked, were brok
ne en- into, and men, women, and children wer
ne sabred or shot down. 1t was of no use tryin
Id to fly. The fugitives were slaughtered in tn
ry streets. The king himself seized his aruuebuse
dy and securely fired upon his subjects from tn
nd windows of the Louvre. For three days tn
re massacre continued Corpses blocked the door
I's ways; mutated bodies lay in every lane an
I'D passage; and thousands were cast into th
ad Seine, then swollen by a food At length, O
ny the fourth day, when the fury of the assassin
le- had become satiated, and the Huguenots wei
as for the most part slain, dead silence fell upo
We the streets of Paris.
ut "These dreadful events at the capitol wei
,ar almost Immediately followed by similar deeC
all over France. From fifteen to eighteen hui
of dred persons were killed at Lyons, and I'll
set dwelers on the Rhone below that city we
led Mortified by the sight of the dead bodies foa
die ing down the river. Six hundred were killt
aid at ROuen, and many more at Dieppe ar
so Havre The numbers killed during the mass
he ere throughout France have been variousy e
ted timated. Sully says 10000 were slain, thOue
lay other writers estimate the victims at 100 900
"Catharine de Medicis wrote in triumph
len Alva, to Phillip H., and to the Pope, of Il
ped results of the three days dreadful work
led Paris. When Phillip heard of the massacr
all he is said to have laughed for the first and on
out time in his life Rome was thrown into d
an lirium of joy at the news. The cannon W
not fired at St. Angelo; Gregory XIII. and
to cardinals went in procession from sanctuary
, to sanctuary to give God thanks for the massacl
3. The subject was ordered to be painted, anC
low medal was struck, with the Pope's image
uch one side, and the destroying angel on the Otf
ore immoating the Huguenots. Cardinal Ors
was dispatched on a special mission to Paris
lost congratulate the king; and on his passa
half through Lyons, the assasslns of the Huguen
lard there, the blood on their hands scarce
knelt before the holy man in the cathedral a
ony received his blessing. At Paris, the triumI
ant clergy celebrated the massacre by put
Ie of procession they determined to consecrate
way. it an annual jubilee on the day of 81. Barth
hing omew and they too had a medal struck
my commemoration OF the event, bearing
anne legend, Piety has awakened justice I !"
little ...