New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-10-20
THE FRENCH PROTESTANTS.
PROFESSOR BAIRD'S HISTORY or ii"''
SUBSEQUENT TO HENRY OF
NAVARRO.
rur u,iGI-ENoTs AND THE REVOCATION or
TUE EDICT OF NANTES. by hehry ~. ss'
BAIRD With Maps. Vo. l, PIP. NN'ni 'oo
Charles Scribners Sons

a, 60, ,,a ,oint where he left II in his His
tory OF the Huguenots and Henry OF Na~"''
N the point where Henry's labors were pro"e"'
70 naught by Louis XIV. The central iac' upon
which the whole narrative turns Is 'ha' por
cal,y the Protestants were victims OF pr'ho'p'e
which they themselves strenuousiy s'ppoi'e
Tho divine right of the King. Their scholars
,,,r,,. volumes on the obligation of subjects 10
49, Oh. monarch In everything unless he went
,,,,o. to divine command as revealed In the
o,,,a. ar5 they were all, learned ard unlearned'
co honaesslv entangled IN their relations with
.bo ctate that IL was hard for them to find eX-
cuses even for fighting in self-detence' 'hue'
the feudal system. which still swayed the iin''''
g ,a, who sunnosed that they had escaped from
., Tho theoretical authority Of the King was
,,,,,aa hv tho actual power Of the great nooes
r,r, tho mower OF these was passing away Inc
,e,.rca NJ tho old Church, without any spe-
.,eo ,r,re,us had been conservative. Ii adVo-
Gated unreserved submission TO cohsti'"'eu a"
thority. Whatever the actual pohticai co"ui'io"
,a,,on was at a given time was right. so far
as the Church was concerned. Inc rear 0"s''
:, ,,,. on,nion was an indifference TO popular IN
s,,ut,ons and to the individual human being as
s,ch Rut Professionalism. with its delegate as
.o,,h,o. and its refusal to distinguish between
tho clergy and the laity. except IN an inlormai
nav sbould have taught a different lesson. In
fact II did teach different lesson, though II
took several generations for 1t to take Its own
teaching really to heart
The cause Of the Reformed Churches lost more
than II gained by the adhesion OF the great no.
h,as Al least. the case seemed thus to the
,vatchful eyes Of contemporaries The discussion
usual in the churches enabled the members TO
agree upon what was best for them, and they
found little cause for difference as TO the means
which they ought to employ. either for delehce
or for the advancement OF religion. But the
heads Of great houses who were more frequent
" rivals than friends rarely felt the unselhsh
wish for the common good that was cherished
nv their humber neighbors. They seemed u
think that their alliance was an honor TO the re-
formed religion. The Duke of Sully was minis
ter infinitely useful to Henry ~. But IL was
question whether not his Protestantlsm WAS
beneficial TO the other Professionals or the ha'loH
He scandazed devout people by always sohs
late to religious services in his castle lie Wouiu
not rise from his seat during prayers ana ne
amused himself with pet dog while others were
attending TO the sermon. II is sald mat ne ne
came more decorous in his later years his lei
,owHuguenots thought him lukewarm. and they
resented in particular ietbSiS " 'A'N Nf~ "
which he used phrases such as would have been
expected OF good Catholic. He advised Henry
TO become Catholic, an act indispensable for
making good his title to the throne OF France
His own consistency in the Protestant faith was
supported by such arguments as seemed TO prove
his cvnicsm rather than his sincerity. SO far as
reverence for religion was concerned, Professor
Baird puts the Duke Of Bouillon. another great
80 mo beside Sully. While he
credits third Lesdiguieres. with even worse
character. These were the three men who. at the
death Of Henry Of Navarro. aspired to lead the
Huguenot party
There were. indeed, among the Huguenot mobiles
Soma men of a different stamp. For example,
there was Dupessis Mornay, who was as skiifui
with the pen as with the sword. and who never
used either pen or sword except at the Instance
Of his convictions Henry ", eager to safe
guard in every way the interests Of his old friends
the Huguenots. willingly put this learned soldier
in command Of the castle and city Of Saumur, at
the crossing of the Loire. To him men of both
religions looked for wise counsel Within his do
main he was a patron Of arts and sciences. He
established a university at Saumur, which was
for wears the best school which the Professionals
had But his very virtues told against him In
the long run. especially when he had to deal
with treacherous savage like Louis XIII. He
could not have that implicit obedience from his
party which he deserved, simply because he was
moderate In his views. and had none Of that heat
which is easily generated by Interior motives
by the Roman Catholic party he was regarded
as the truly representative Protestant OF his
time, for his virtues were the most perfect en-
bodment OF the doctrines professed by the Re-
formers while the Huguenots yielded him a re-
spect so sincere. and deferred so generally to his
opinions and wishes that he gained with the
masses of the people the complimentary surname
Of The Pope OF the Protestants.' There was
also Theodore Agrippa dAubigne, who was not
only a soldier and scholar. but also wit. His
honesty was never questioned. though his kind
ness of heart was doubted. He was relentless in
battle as In sarcasm But successful war was
no longer in the power Of the French Reformed
Churches The one failure OF Duplessis Mornay
was that he could not ma &c the Huguenots UNI
derstand why ne so strenuOusy advocated peace.
There were also two great leaders. younger than
Dryplessis Mornay or d'Aubigne-Henry. Duke Of
Rohan and his brother Benjamin, Baron of
Soubize-who prolonged the hopeless contest far
into the times of Louis XIV But all these men
were fatally burdened by political doctrine to
which they as well all other Huguenots eager
ly assented They prided themselves upon being
loyal subjects OF the Crown. Under such King
as Henry " this dd no harm 1t was different
with inonarchs whose advisers were members OF
the Jesuit order. Yet ;hey were led into what
was at least an error o: craftsmanship by very
natural succession Of events. 1t was believed
that the Jesuts had instgated the murder OF
Henry. This belief was strengthened by the fact
that treatses defending the crime OF regicde were
boldly published by members of the order To
this were added considerations drawn from the
attitude Of the Roman Catholic clergy and no.
bility toward the Throne
Thus the Protcstants were lied to repeat on
every occasion and with what seems to US UNI
necessary emphasis. and In exaggerated terms. an
unlimited submission TO the royal authority
For example. one occasion a distinguished