The Irish standard., 1913-12-27


when one has wasted it's strength
and time at the dry and hollow bone,
it drops it and another one of the
pack grabs it with painting mouth anG
flashing fangs. And so you find each
and every one of them using and re.
using the same old tales and the same
old authors, untiringly, unscrupulously
repeating and copying from each
other and from themselves. And so
you find Tom Watson once more re-
vamping the story of the Massacre of
st. Bartholomew in the last number
of Vol. XVII and the first of Vol.
XVIII (Oct. and Nov. 1879, of Wat
sons Magazine.
The calumny expressed and implied
in this story as told again and again,
is contained in the fact that the re-
sponsibility for, and even the execu-
tion of, the massacre, is laid at the
door of the Catholic Church.
A Recent Refutation.
1t has long ago become necessary
to refute this calumny, and it has
been frequently done, sometimes thor
oughly, sometimes in less thorough,
convincing manner. A brief but ade-
quate treatment has been given this
subject as late as Nov, 1912, by DR..
Eugen Jaeger, member of the German
Reichstag, in the Allegemeine Runds-
chau of Munich (No. AZ. Nov. 23, 1912,
P. 939 f), in reply to a reference
made by the German Emperor. to
Coligny, the Huguenot Admiral who
fell during the massacre. Jaeger
points out, in order to present the
proper setting for the incident, SO
that it might be correctly understood,
the close relation between religion
and politics, ;Sand even the predomi,
nance s;gt iphuenfe i'm the adj
vance Of Pfosss u lis ~ 81 d, 4iifsestaia b
degree this was true mi la6is
land, France, Hungary, Bohemia, Aus.
tria and Bavaria, and there can be no
question that the wealth of monas-
teries and churches, the political
power held by ecclesiastical authori
ties, and the assurance that all OF
this would be the spoils of the fol
lowers of the new religion, prompted
the conversion" of many. First and
foremost among those interested in
the establishment of the new order
of things were the nobility, who were
first in the ranks of eligibles for these
riches, distinction and power. In the
Netherlands Calvinism was greatly ad.
vanced by the opposition of the people
and their leaders to foreign Spanish
rule and exploitation. In France like
wise the movement was movement
of the nobility, and this element lent
strength to the religious movement
the movement of Professionalism lent
it the force of arms, and without its
aid Professionalism would have been
lost from the beginning.
Nobility Uses Religion as a Tool.
The last two centuries of the Mid
die Ages were marked by the in
surrection of the nobility. In Ger
many the after effects were shown ir
the war of the mobiles under Franz
Won Sickingen and Ulrich Won Hutten
in 1923 and the Grumgach Conspiracy
In 1867, In France, suffering under
regal despotism, the nobility revolted
against the absolutism of the rulers
and made use of Calvinism in its
campaigns. The royal court was cor
rupt. irreligious, though nominally
Catholic, immoral, INSCRIPTIONS in
politics, desirous, however, of retain
ing the Catholic faith and unity among
the people. The political situation
was aggravated by the private politi
cal schemes of the powerful Lorraine
family of Guise, which aspired to the
crown which it hoped to obtain, on
the extinction of the Valois, with the
aid of the Catholics; aggravated fur
ther by the enmity existing between
France and Spain, the latter being
supreme in the Netherlands, where
France sought to conquer new ter
ritory with the aid of the Huguenots
The latter carried on an incessant
civil war from 1860 on, both in the
Netherlands and in France, and one
war followed another.
Civil Wars.-coIiany.
Catholicism was at that time still
interviewer with all the thoughts and
sympathies of the French people. The
people desired to have this condition
continue; une fol, une loi, un roi
These internal wars wrought great
havoc in France, seriously disturbed
its political interests in Spain and
Germany and threatened its financial
ruin. In these wars, Admiral Coligny
played an important part along with
other gentlemen Of the highest ranks
of the nobility. The title of Admiral
at that time signified an exalted mill
tary position, but did not apply tc
the marine service. Coligny was un
successful in the defense of st. Quen
tin, the fortress was seized by the
Spaniards in 1867 and the Admira
held captive for two wears. hein9 re