The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-02-09

conceived ON the eve ri It's execsu ...,..
An attempt was made August ~ 70 assassinate
ColiynI in TIE streets Catharine de Medlci.
mother O. the vacil anng Young kng. cnarles tS *,
ana other crimes. She was Jealous alike OF
Collgni and the Guises and plotted against both.
In the IN iammabie and distracted conution OF
France the at ;enptsd assassination OF COiigni
nred the hugucn0ts, who had assemblies Ia large
nun bers in PARIS TO attend the marriage cere-
MONIES OF Henry OF Navarro They marchedthIo ugh
the streets in military array and forced their
way to the King whine he Was at supper, demanding
Justice aud threatening vengeance IL deni ID.
CathArine became seriously alarmed. dreading an
insurrecton in Paris and renewal o: civil str fe
murder him. Their own dsmonstrssions had
filled him with dresd. AT last, on The morning OF
August "a she ext0ited nom him consent to the
death OF Cogni. accompanied by the fatal words
"Kli all, then that none may live to reproach me-"
murder. undertook the execu iOn OF the slaughter
beginning with tle murder Of COlgni.
France have vari d rom two thousand to one nun
dred thousand. The Calvinstic author of the mar
tyrology OF the Husuenots, published IN 1857. est.
mated the number first at 81, 0O then, In detail AZ
l5i6o, anu, hnaly alter examining the registry Of
individuals VINO pc lsned, cou only ind the names
really less than the massacres Of tie lrisn under
Cromwell, and not much greater than the victims
OF the huguenots themselves in their outbreak Id
AS the Kings order was carried throughout
France the scene VAS re-enacted here and there.
so lar from being simultaneous massacre. 1t &C.
Cured like the repetitons OF an echo Is tine report
| travels iron point to points; While q recent Prot.
estant writer says that the occurrences in the
provinces, instead OF proving long premedtation
will be found, alter care examination, rather to
the absence N suca % az }n Catholic
| Church. II Is certain that numbers OF eminent
French Catholics detested TINS bloody coup detat
| as II deserved. numDer or CATHOLIC Governors
refused to obey the order OIL the King. The CathO
| lie Dukes Of Aumae, Bison and Bellevue, with other
many Auguenots as possible. Many Italians
| opened their houses as asylum for the iugitives.
| bishops or clergy took any part In the massacre.
The Bishop OF Liseux extended an open protection
to all the HuguenOts Of his diocese and received az
who chose to come into the protection OF MS epls'
copal palace, an act Which induced many 10 return
| to the Catholic Chuf CHI.
| The motives which prompted the slaughter were
purely political and not religiOus-they were In no
| Way sanctioned by the Church. The principal guilt
| OF this heinous political crime, says "Appleton's
| Encyclopedia" must be laid at the door Of that
| able out wicked Princess Catnarne de- Medicl, who
lived only ior her personal ambition, ana VINO
| gious aplmOsity OF the Huguenots against the
Catholics as that OF tle latter against the former.
| II it had answered her purposes so to do.
The Papal See had no oreknOwledge OF the mas
sacre. This follows, OF course, from the non-pre-
kome instead OF being cognizant OF any intended
| slaughter, wrote, after hearing OF the event. In
cipher, so that 1t could not have been intended or
| French Court in ormatlOn concerning the causes.
authors and circumstances OF the massacre. The
NunciO REPLIED with proofs, that the slaughter was
planned only on the night previous to It's execution
and after the failure oil the attempt to assassnate
| COlign The NunciO's letters were also written in
| cipher, for the instruction OF his own court only
and without the expectation or probability OF their
being made public and he repeatedly therein asserts
his certain conviction OF the accuracy OF his inIOr
| nation
Finally as to the rejoicings of the Papal See and
| the obnoxious medal. The word ''strages" means
"discOmfture, defeat, overthrow" as well as
slaughter or massacre. 1t is natural that anti.
| latter words. The ailegorical representation on
| the medal Is Q mbolical OF the triumph OF just
cause, represented by the Angel OF Justice: Com
municatOn between countries was then, Of course,
| dinicult and slow. The day after the slaughter
Cataarine transmitted her own account OF the event
to the other courts OF Europe. At Rome the intel
lisence came through the french Ambassador, the
| Cardinal de Lorraine, prelate embittered against
the Huguenots by the murder of his brother the Due
de utse. He receiving the version OF his sovereign,
| announced to the Pope Gregory Xlll.) the narrow
escape Of the French KING from an insurrection
nots and the complete defeat Of the conspiratOrs.
He placarded the news on the doors OF the church
OF st Louis and the Pope consented to the Onering
ola "Te Deum" In the church IN commemoration Of
| the victory.
The Romans remembered the evils which they
Z emselves had suffered from the Lutherans during
the siege by the Due de Bourbon. They knew the
desperate struggle which had been going on IN
Obtain control OF the government. and on the part
OF the Catholics to retain pre.eminence The great
victory OF Lepanto, which had prevented the Turks
from overrunnlng Europe, was being celebrated.
Letters had Just been received from the two pow
erful French Princes, the King Of Navarro and the
| Prince OF Condo, announcing their return to the
Catholic Church. The news OF the defeat of the
Huguenots capped the climax OF the rejoicing. 1t
may be said, Is an offset to the Roman action,
| taat the English Parliament in similar manner
thanked God for Cromwels massacre OF the Irish,
| after he had granted quarter, and rewarded cap
tain Tor throwing prisoners overheard into the sea.
When In time the actual character OF the Hugue.
| not slaughter became understood Gregory 80 ef-
fectually dsclaimed all sympathy in it that even
| anti-Cathoic historians have acknowledged him
his e OF @
his great learning and his zeal for education. II
was he who reformed the calendar.
1t Is the custom OF antiCathOlicS to hold the
Catholic Church responsible Tor the individual acts
| OF its preates or pontifYs Its doctrine on this
point Is clear and simple. The Pope, in his func-
lions as Vicar OF Christ and Head Of the Church,
has from time to time, in order to settle doubts or
controversies, to renoer decisions upon questions
| as to what is and has ever been the faith OF the
Church on the subjects referred to. In these deci-
.sions OF dogma er cathetra the Church teaches
that the Holy Ghost speaks through the voice OF
the Pontin and preserves the faith from perver-
sion. This is his infalibility. He cannot invent
original deposit OF faith But in his ordinary
dotal functions, or as sovereign or as an indlvid
Tai he is net infaole; nor Is he as many anti
impeccabe-that Is, incapable OF sin. tie may fall,
like other men, and he will surely be judged by his
ment or OF will For these the Church Is not re-
sponsible, though his elevated position in 1t natu-
rally occasions, in such cases. JOY to its enemies
AS to mis- infalibility in defining dogmas-if there
Is no infalble God-guided, visible tribunal OF ap-
| mand the belief Of men, how shall the honest con-
trOverses among believers be settled The lone
| fOdn would, as time rolled on, be divided into
countless sects The language Of Christ Is at least
| remarkable-"On thee, Peter, l will build my
| Church, and the gates OF hell shall not prevail
against 1t. Peter, feed my lambs 1.-THE people, feed
my sheep 1.-THE PASTORS. | have given to thee the
| keys OF the kingdom OF heaven. l have prayed for
thee that thy faith fail not: do thou, being con-
verted, confirm thy brethren" From the bark OF
| Peter lie taught the multitudes. In Peters net
| occurred the miraculous draught OF fishes.
| CATHOLIC.
| Why Became . Spirftualtst.
| To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD