The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1879-12-03
BOOKS RECEIVED.

A competent critic has already pronounced
this book the classic of the subject" and surely
no period of ecclesiastical history surpasses in
interest the halfcentury which these volumes
cover. Says Professor Baird in his preface
1t included the first planting of the reformed
doctrines, and the steady growth of the Reforma-
ton in spite of obloquy and persecution. <
Itsaw the gathering and the regular organization
of the reformed communities as we'll as their
consolidation into one of the most orderly and
Jealous churches of the Protestant family. 1t
witnessed the failure of the bloody legislation of
three successive monarchs and the equally abor
tive efforts of a fourth monarch to destroy the
Huguenots, first with the sword and afterward
with the dagger. The story of the heroic
struggles of the French Protestants for civil and
religious liberty, can never lack for tellers and
listeners so long as civilization endures and the
oft told tale of the massacre of Saint Bartholo-
news Day will continue to thrill and stir the
blood Of even the coolest natures however di-
verse their views aud creeds, whether
they regard the thousands of victims as glorious
martyrs for the truth, or as heretics whose
determination illustrated the highest type of
piety.
A few extracts from this portion of the His
tory will serve as samples of the authors
style, so clear and vigorous, oftentimes glowing
and picturesque. "To the guilty plotters that
was sleepless night. Unable to rest quietly,
at little before dawn, Catharine with her two
elder sons found her way to the portal of the
Louvre. There they sat down to await the
beginning of their treacherous enterprise. If
we may believe Henry of Anjou, none of them
as yet realized its full horrors but as they quiet
ly watched in that hour of stiffness for the first
signs of the coming outbreak, the report of
pistol-shot reached their ears Instantly it
wrought a marvellous revulsion in their feel
ings. Hastily they send a servant to the Duke
of Guise, and countermand the instructions of the
evening, and bid him to do no injury to the
Admiral. 1t is too late The messenger soon
returns with the tidings that Coligny is already
dead that the work is about to begin in all the
rest of the city The die s cast, the deed is half
done let it be fully and boldly contaminated.
No room now for pity or regret. X
The frenzy that had fallen upon Paris affected
all classes alike. Every feeling of pity seemed
to have been blotted out Natural affection
disappeared. A mans foes were those of his
own household On the plea of religious zeal
the most barbarous acts were committed.
The carnival of blood, which had been so sue
cessfuly ushered in on that ill-stained Sunday Of
August, was maintained on the succeeding days
with little abatement of its frenzied excite
mont Paris soon resembled a vast charnel-
house. The dead or dying lay in the open
streets and squares, they blocked the doors and
carriage-ways they were heaped in the court
yard. When the utmost that impotent passion
could do to these lifeless remains was accom-
plished, the Seine became the receptacle. In
describing the character and work of the Ad-
miral, our authoS says: But all Coligny's
military achievements pale in the light of his
manly, and unaffected piety. 1t is as type of
the best class among the Huguenot nobility
that he deserves everlasting remembrance
From his youth he had been plunged in the en-
crossing pursuits of soldiers life but he was
not ashamed as soon as he embraced the views
of the reformers, to acknowledge the superior
claims of religion upon his time and his allegi-
ance He gloried in being "a Christian The in
Auence of his faith was felt in every action of
his life. In the busiest part of an active life, he
yet found time for the recognition of God and,
whether in the camp or in his castle of Chatillon-
sur-Loing, he consecrated no insignificant por-
ton of the day to devotion" From the pre-
face Of these books we learn something of
the patient labor and conscientious research
which enabled Professor Baird to give his read
ers first wonderfully distinct impression of the
political, moral, and religious condition of
France in the sixteenth century, followed by an
impartial, just, thorough, and accurate presenta-
ton ofthe intense action and dramatic incidents of
the French Reformation AS many of the exiled
Huguenots found refuge, not only on American
shores but here in Virginia, and also in South
Carolina, this History " possesses for Southern
readers personal and local interest
The History of the Huguenot Emigration to
the American Colonies in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries, by Mr.. Charles W. Baird,
will be soon published Professor Baird inform us.
If as ably written as the present work it cannot
fail of being received and read with eagerness
and delight, especially by the numerous descen-
dants of those French refugees. The most fastid
iOus lover of books could desire nothing more at
tractive than these magnificent volumes, as to
paper, type, form, and finish
Published by Charles Soribner's Sons, New
York. For sale by West, Johnston & Co.