Return Of The Vaudois, And Of Their Re-Establishment In Their Own Country, Against The United Forces Of The French King And The Duke Of Savoy.

CHAPTER -Account of their kind reception in the Protestant Cantons, after their removal from Geneva; of their great uneasiness in Switzerland, though so kindly treated there, because of their banishment from their paternal inheritance; of their two unsuccessful attempts to return; of the umbrage taken thereat by the Duke of Savoy, and the persuasions and endeavors thereupon of Messieurs de Zurich and Bern, to transplant them into Wirtemburg, Brandenburgh, and the Palatinate; of King William’s favorable sentiments to them, that for the preservation of their Churches, they should keep in a body to be ready for a return; and of the incidents which fell out favoring the same; namely, their being driven out of the Palatinate, the Duke of Savoy’s drawing off his Troops against the Mondovians, and our happy Revolution. THE history which I propose to write, is so admirable in all its circumstances, that a naked account of the events contained therein will be enough, without the embellishment of art, to satisfy the reader; and as for the fidelity of the performance, it may suffice that the whole narration shall be founded upon the memoirs of those who have had the principal direction of the affairs of the Vaudois.

We have already seen in the latter end of the preceding book with what Christian hospitality the remainder of the poor Vaudois were entertained at Geneva, that sure asylum of afflicted protestants. Let us now follow them a little into the country of the evangelic cantons, where, being all arrived, in February, 1687, they found those as fathers whom they had had for deliverers; and were for the most part dispersed in the towns and villages of the canton of their excellencies of Bern; where they would have had good reason to be satisfied with their condition, if the desire of returning into their own country had not incessantly agitated their spirits.

In effect, not valuing their life, if they could not spend it where they had received it, they resolved to return thither whatsoever it cost them. In order to which they make three attempts; and though none but the last did succeed, however I shall in my way speak a word or two of the two former, which had like to have deprived them of the means and the hopes of bringing it about.

As for the first attempt, as it was made at a venture, without leaders, almost without arms, without imparting it to those who had the care of their conduct, tumultuously, and without having taken the measures necessary for such an enterprise, one must not wonder if their design miscarried at Lausanne; when the bailiff of that town having hindered them from embarking at Ouchi, ordered them, in the behalf of their excellencies of Bern, every one to retire to his own home.

If this first attempt passed without having made much noise, it was not so with the second; for this having been concerted with prudence, it carried them much farther. The first thing these good people did, was to send three men to view the country. These three, who were natives, the first of the valley of St. Martin, the second of that of Queyras, and the third of that of Cluson or Prajelas, had orders not only to discover the byways, to observe the routes through the highest mountains, in order to pass the rivers at their heads, but also to do their utmost to engage those who were still about their valleys, to bake them bread against their arrival, and to keep it privately for them in the places which they agreed upon. And it is worth taking notice, that in these valleys they almost always bake bread as hard as sea-biscuit, by which means it will keep a long time.

These three travelers were successful enough in going, but were not so in returning; for because they did not take the high road, two of them were looked upon and taken for robbers, in the wilds of the Tarantaise. In short, they arrested them, and being asked why they did not keep the ordinary routes, they answered, that dealing in lace, and knowing it was made in the country, they went thus from one place to another to buy it. Although this answer appeared plausible enough, they did not however fail to search them: they found upon them some sheets of blue paper, which suggested some suspicion, and therefore they held them to the fire, to see if they could not discover some writing which would render them criminals; but nothing appearing, they bethought themselves at length to offer them lace, to see if they understood that sort of merchandise wherein they pretended to deal. This little artifice had like to have ruined them; for he who was a native of Prajelas, having offered six crowns for a piece which was worth but three, the governor and the inhabitants who were present, strengthening themselves thereby in the suspicion of their being rather spies than merchants, took their money and threw them into prison. Being afterwards examined, according to all the forms of justice, they persisted in their first declaration; and he of Queyras, who had sold lace in Languedoc, having said that he could give a good account of the places of his province, and amongst others, of Montpellier and of Lunel, as having trafficked there, they brought a man of the same profession, and who had often been in the same Farts;especially at Lunel. This man confessed that all that the prisoner said was true; so they were released at the end of eight days, but without having their money restored, which amounted to ten crowns.

The report which these three men made, being favorable to the design of the Vaudois, both with relation to their country’s being inhabited by strangers, and the possibility of returning there by certain ways, which they believed till then impracticable, induced their directors to hold a council, where a resolution was taken of making a second attempt. And being met together to do it by the country of Vallais, and by the mountain of St. Bernard, the rendezvous was made in the plain of Bex, a village on the borders of the canton of Bern, and a little league from St. Maurice, a small village of that valley.

They pretended to repair to the rendezvous without being discovered in their design; but although they marched by night, and by divers ways, they could not however conceal their march from their excellencies of Zurich and of Bern, no more than from the city of Geneva, where their enterprise was discovered by the desertion of sixty Vaudois, who served in the garrison, and who were retired to the country of Vaud; there is also reason to believe that the mutual advices which these three cities gave one another, concerning the new project of the Vaudois, were the cause that they received not in time a vessel which they had taken some days before to carry them some arms near Villeneuve, a small town situated at the end of the lake of Geneva, very near the valley. The rumor of this new enterprise being then spread abroad, the Savoyards and the Valestans fired their beacons, put themselves in a posture of defense, and above all had a good guard at the bridge of St. Maurice, over which they must necessarily pass, unless they would cross the Rhone beneath, as also they would have done, if it had been possible for them to have the necessary vessels.

During the time then that these poor people, who composed but a troop of 600 or 700 men, were thinking what they should do in a conjuncture which was already unhappy enough for them, Monsieur Frederic Torman, bailiff, and governor of Aigle, repairing to Bex, which is in his jurisdiction, caused them to assemble in the temple, where he made them a very edifying discourse; for after having bespoke them with tears in his eyes, and exhorted them to patience, telling them that God would remember the poor Vaudois, and that approving and favoring the zeal which they showed for re-establishing religion, where it had never been extinguished, he would infallibly one time bring them back into their country; he dexterously made them sensible that it would be rashness and even folly, to persist in an enterprise which was already noised abroad, and whereof the consequences could not but be most fatal to them: having thus a little revived their spirits, and M. Arnaud their pastor and chief of the expedition, having completed it, by expounding to them this short verse of the twelfth chapter of St. Luke, “Fear not little flock,” and making them understand that God had his time, this generous bailiff and governor, not only conducted them to Aigle, where he caused bread to be distributed among them, and provided them the most convenient lodgings in the town, taking home the principal officers, and particularly the said sieur Arnaud, but also for a farther proof of his humanity, he sent them two hundred crowns to assist the retreat of those who inhabited the borders of Switzerland. All these humanities, and all these acts of kindness, made them more lively resent the cruelty of the inhabitants of Vevay; who by order of the council of the town, not content with not receiving them, refused even to lodge them in the neighborhood, and forbid, upon pain of rigorous punishments, the supplying them victuals; as they heard by a widow woman, who, maugre their prohibitions, and at the peril of seeing her house razed, did not cease to bring them pro. visions into the meadow, where they lay encamped. Although this kind of inhumanity of Mesieurs de Vevay was but in obedience to a superior order, wherein their politics and reasons of state had no other end but to make the Vaudois, finding themselves thus ill treated, remove themselves the sooner from their frontiers; it would however be difficult to dissuade some from believing that heaven has punished them for it by the fire, which some time after devoured almost all this town, without having damaged the house of this poor charitable widow, although it was enclosed amidst those which were consumed.

The disappointment of this second enterprise, which was made in June, 1658, was doubly prejudicial to the Vaudois: for the Duke of Savoy, having thereby discovered their intentions, and knowing what they could be capable of executing, when they should set themselves about it in good earnest, did not content himself with the guards which the officers of his militia had caused to be placed in all the routes, and principally about Geneva, as at St. Julien, a. Lancy, at Tremblieres, and at Chene, as also at Belle-Rive, and particularly in all the places which belong to him upon the eastern shore of the lake; but he also sent into the Chablais, two regiments of infantry, which made about 2000 men. These regiments were commanded by two persons of quality and merit, the Count de Bernex, and the Marquis de Caudree. They were followed by some dragoons, which having given umbrage to the city of Geneva, that republic also reenforced its garrison. The second inconvenience which happened to the Vaudois from their second enterprise, was, that their prince having made a great complaint to the magistrates of Bern, accusing them of breach of faith, and of having favored the project of this irruption into his estates, they were so much offended with a reproach so contrary to the honor and the fidelity wherewith they observe their treaties and their alliances, that they began to look upon the Vaudois with an evil eye; and they thought of removing them from their frontiers, thereby to take away from the Duke of Savoy all suspicion of intelligence. The magistrates of Zurich also conceiving the like indignation against them, called together at Arau an assembly of the evangelic cantons: they sent there for the most considerable of the Vaudois, namely, two of those who were refugees in the canton of Bern, and two of those of the canton of Basle, as many of that of Schaffhausen, and one of those of. St. Gall and Neufchatel. It was in this assembly where they declared to them they would no longer entertain them, and ordered them to retire from the cantons, and places where they dwelt. And as, for two months past since their abortive enterprise, they had not ceased giving them wherewith to subsist, just as before, and that likewise their excellencies of Bern had offered them the island which is upon the lake of Juerdun and of Morat, to inhabit there, and cultivate it; so they were not a little surprised to understand an order which prescribed them to depart the country. It was proposed to them to go into Brandenburg, but they excused themselves, representing the great distance. But as this excuse discovered to the gentlemen of Bern, that they had always their country at heart; these gentlemen, to conquer an obstinacy which they judged dangerous, commanded those who were in their canton to depart in a prefixed time. They then obeyed, and having taken their route through the capital of Bern, they had however the satisfaction of discovering there, that the severe manner wherewith they were treated, was but a maxim of state policy: for besides the great caresses which they there met with, the secretary of the town distributed money among them, when they embarked themselves upon the Aar, to pass into the countries of the cantons of Zurich and Schaffhausen, and afterwards farther when occasion should offer.

The country of Wirtemburg, which was not far from the places where they had made them go, seemed to suit them very well with respect to the soil, which is very fruitful, as well in pastures, as vineyard-plots. They deputed three persons from among them, who, making their address to Monseigneur the Duke Frederic Charles, at that time administrator, uncle, and tutor of Duke Eberhard Louis, now gloriously governing, they found in his most serene highness, and in his council, favorable dispositions to grant them all they demanded, and in effect he granted them some lands: but the Vaudois, whose aim was always to make a body, seeing they could not dwell together, and because they would separate them, they humbly begged of the gentlemen of Zurich and Schaffhausen, to permit them to pass their winter-quarters in their country.

The intercession of the ministers of the cantons, and of some from Geneva, did not a little contribute to obtain them this permission; nor did the great collections which had been made for them in England and Holland prejudice their case; the last of which amounted alone to 92,000 crowns.

And his most serene highness the Prince of Orange, who afterwards became so gloriously King of Great Britain, sent M. de Convenant, sometime counsellor at Orange, to make the distribution with a just economy.

This made a good provision for the nourishment and entertainment of these poor exiles: but still it was not very easy to find them fixed habitations. After divers projects, whereof some were to send them even into the new world, the power, the liberality, and the offers of his late electoral highness of Brandenburg, made at length the gentlemen of the cantons of Switzerland, and all those who with them interested themselves for the Vaudois, determine to propose to them to go and inhabit in the marches of Brandenburg, the lands which were offered them there being upon very advantageous conditions.

As some of them had already been upon the place and described to them the country as being very far distant, and very inconvenient, as well because of the language, as by reason of the climate, both of which indeed are very different from their own; all the kindness and all the marks of extraordinary tenderness which they owned at the same time to have received of the late elector of Brandenburg, did not however make impressions great enough upon their spirits to carry them so far: on the contrary, they declared openly to persons authorized, who spake to them of. it on the part of the gentlemen of Zurich, that they could not resolve to take that way.

It was judged there was too much humor and nicety in such an obstinate refusal, which caused them to pay the less regard to them, and to treat and speak to them very roughly; insomuch that at last there were but few sermons wherein they did not fall upon them; but all to no purpose. And the Swiss gentlemen, offended to the last degree with the little compliance of these poor people, to embrace such good offers, were so offended with this obstinacy, that not willing to alter their measures, they compelled them to sign an instrument, whereby they promised at length to go where they would have them. But although M. Arnaud had signed this act himself, he did not however fail to protest against it, saying, that they had been forced.

And besides that they had signed their march to Brandenburg, it was still insinuated so dexterously in their minds, the necessity wherein they were of going thither, that there were at length more than 800 men, women, children, and domestics, who resolved upon it. These then being accounted the most reasonable, they were conveyed as far as they could, and they obtained in their favor, not only passports, but likewise all sorts of good offices and conveniences from the princes through whose dominions they must pass, as far as Frankfort upon the Main. Being arrived at this town, M. Choudens de Grema, a refugee of the country of Geix, and counsellor of the embassy, came there to receive them, in behalf of his electoral highness of Brandenburg, to conduct them to Berlin; and they were there received by his said electoral highness with a cordial kindness worthy of the greatness of his soul, and of the incomparable piety of this magnanimous and august prince. That which added to the favorable reception which had already been given in his illustrious court, to so many poor French refugees, induced a particular person to form the curious design of a print of a largeness and beauty altogether singular; and this to be exhibited to the public, as a monument of such his Christian and generous hospitality: the plate was engraved by the famous Forneiser of Basle; and M. Hoffman, professor of history in the same city, made the devices and inscriptions. We do not relate them here, nor the speech which was made to his highness upon the occasion, for this would increase the bulk of this narrative.

We return then to the Vaudois, which we left in Switzerland. They had now need of all their constancy, to bear that coldness which their hosts still affected to show them, thereby to make them understand that they must absolutely depart the cantons, and that they must seek other places of.habitation, since in refusing to go with their comrades, they would not like those which had been procured them with a great deal of difficulty.

Seeing then it must be so, they determined every one to the off according to his own particular views and inclinations. It is true, that they mightily inclined to slip back towards Geneva; but as the magistrates of that prudent republic had taken measures which were opposite to that design, they found themselves obliged to disperse themselves in the country of the Grisons, upon the frontiers of Wirtemburg, and in some parts of the Palatinate, which were assigned them by order of the electoral Philip William of Newburg, who was then alive, and had a good inclination to repeople his estates, which the wars have so often depopulated.

It seemed now that these poor wanderers had at length found what they sought, and that now they should entertain no other thoughts but of settling themselves; but having still very different views, M. Arnaud, after having taken care to lodge them, and being willing to make the best of this little interval, accompanied by a Vaudois captain, named Baptista de Sieur Jean, went into Holland, to communicate their design to the Prince of Orange, and to some other lords who had at heart the interest of the Vaudois. That prince of glorious memory, having in one of the audiences, to which he admitted M. Arnaud, understood that the Vaudois persisted still in their design of returning into their valleys, told that minister that he greatly commended his zeal and his piety, and exhorted him, whatever he did, to keep them together in a body, to the end that these ancient churches might not be lost by their separation, and having recommended it to him to have a little more patience, and not lose courage, he made both of them a present of what was necessary for their journey in returning to their people.

Providence, which preserved this handful of people, to make them an example of the wonders which you will see by and by with astonishment, seemed unwilling to lead this little flock into a country where they might settle; thereby to show he designed they should return into their own country. In short, they had scarcely begun to settle themselves, but the train of differences which happened between the Duke of Orleans and the Duke of New-burg, now become Elector Palatine, obliged them to seek for safety by flight; as not judging it convenient to become a victim to the French, of whose fury they had already been but too sensible: wherefore, not suffering themselves to be tempted by the lands and privileges, whereof the Elector Palatine put them in possession, nor even by the offers of the Duke of Wir-ternburg, who would have employed the more healthy and strong, and provided for the rest; they resolved to abandon all these advantages, in order to escape from their enemies. But the difficulty was to know where they should retire; for they easily foresaw, that if they should go farther into Germany, the incumbrance of their families would retard them, and complete their ruin, by making them fall a prey to those from whom they would fly. In this uncertainty they conceived, as if they had been inspired by God, they could not do better than to return to their first sanctuary, i.e. Switzerland; where they were very safe, as you will presently see after a little reflection which it is pertinent to make here, by considering the surprising manner in which God has brought back his people into their inheritances, permitting the French, who had driven them out thence, to be the very instruments of putting them into a capacity of returning thither.

This new disgrace which befel them in a country where they had scarce surmounted all the discouraging difficulties, which are ordinarily met with, when a settlement is first begun in a strange country; and which gave them the displeasure of abandoning to their enemies the harvest of those dear seeds which they had sown in the sweat of their brows; did happily so sensibly touch the people of the cantons, that forgetting all their past discontents, they not only received with open arms the remainder of the Vaudois, but also sent a secretary, named M. Speyceiger, to meet them, from whom they received a thousand favors, and M. Daude, a refugee minister of Languedoc, who did them a great many services at Wirtemburg, where he was better known by the name of Ollympe, having made, in favor of them, a most moving discourse before Messieurs de Schaffhausen.

These gentlemen did also send the Sieur Speyceiger to the other cantons, to represent to them that theirs was of too small an extent to entertain all the Vaudois, and to persuade them, to receive part of them.

The letters of Messieurs de Schaffhausen, seconded by those of Messieurs de Zurich, gained Messieurs de Bern, and prevailed with them to follow their example, so as to make this afflicted people feel the effects of their Christian charity, by entertaining them in the places where they had not thought it convenient to receive them before; for they had then contented themselves to lodge them on the frontiers of Wirtemburg, and of the canton of Schaffhausen, where they lived upon the collections which were made for them in England, Holland, Switzerland, and elsewhere; whereof M. Daude, who lived sometimes at Stutgard, and sometimes at Schaffhausen, had the management. Thus they were again dispersed in several parts of the protestant cantons, even in the country of Neufchatel, of Neuveville, and of Biene, and earned their livelihood by their honest labor, the greatest part of them being employed by the peasants; for it must be remarked to their praise, that during the whole time of their exile from the valleys, there was never any complaint made against them of their ill conduct or misdemeanor in any place where they have been; except that when they went from Zurich, one of their soldiers carried away his master’s gun, which coming to the knowledge of some of their chiefs, who lived at Geneva, the gun was immediately sent back to its owner.

Having had time in these new circumstances to make reflections, they became sensible that the misfortune of being so long tossed to and fro, befel them by reason of their too great inclination to forget their country, and judging that God had not permitted this disgrace, but to convince them more effectually that they should never find rest but at their own home, they again resolved to return thither, whatever it cost them. What contributed very much to this resolution was, that the spies whom they had sent thither above a year before, gave them good hopes, and they knew that the Duke of Savoy had in the spring of 1689, withdrawn the troops he had on this side the mountains, either because that prince had no more apprehension of the Vaudois, whom he knew to be at a great distance; or because he bad need of all his men to reduce the Mondovians, who, according to their custom, had made a new insurrection.

If these two reasons did powerfully contribute to their design; the great and happy revolution which happened in England, was the seal which impressed on their hearts the resolutions not to flinch from it. They saw that the Prince of Orange, who had assured them of his august protection, (in order, by an enterprise the most noble and the most heroic that ever was known, to re-establish the power of the laws which had been subverted,) was proclaimed King of Great Britain, and placed on the throne, which the abdication of King James II. made vacant: they knew also the antipathy which reigned as it were naturally between this new king and the King of France, his zeal likewise for the protestant religion, which looked upon him as its principal protector, and what he owed to all the powers who had favored and assisted his coming to the crown. From all this they agreeably flattered and promised themselves that England would not fail to declare war against France, as indeed it happened soon after. The Vaudois easily foreseeing that this war would give Louis XIV. who was the greatest obstacle to their’ return, employment enough; and that this monarch seeing himself involved in great affairs, would doubtless neglect or despise so small a one as theirs; they thought it was high time to take off the mask, and to improve the opportunity which appeared so favorable to the enterprise whereof we are now to speak.

As these poor exiles had sensibly perceived, that their former attempts had not failed, but for their not having duly kept it secret; their leaders therefore applied themselves particularly to conceal their new design. And that the passage into the states of Savoy, through which they must go, might not be shut against them; and that Messieurs de Bern, being ignorant of the matter, might not ray any impediment in their way, and might even justify themselves, in case they should be reproached on that account; they therefore so well concerted their measures, and managed the affair so secretly, that all their people marched without knowing whither.

CHAPTER -A Diary of the Expedition, and march of the Vaudois from the Lake of Geneva, through the Alps, till they entered into their own Valleys; and their notable adventures in the said march. THEIR rendezvous was in the country of Vaud, in a great forest called the Wood of Nion, lying between Nion and Rolle; a place very fit for their design, because they could easily lie concealed there, and being between two pretty good towns, and very near some considerable villages, they could very conveniently get provisions from thence: besides, being very near the lake, it was very easy for them to embark privately in the night, without being discovered by any one. They were for the most part happily arrived at the rendezvous, where they waited only for some few of their people, who, they judged, could not arrive there so soon as themselves, because coming from the most distant parts of Switzerland, of Wirtemburg, and of the country of the Grisons, they had a longer journey to make, and ran the risk of being discovered, as indeed they were; for it happened that Count Cassati, a Spanish ambassador to the cantons, perceiving some motions which he thought suspicious, immediately gave notice to the Count de Govon, envoy from the Duke of Savoy. This envoy made so strict an inquiry, that at length he discovered these poor unhappy people, to the number of one hundred and twenty-two, including some strangers, who were not in the secret, who, notwithstanding had the same fate as the rest. They not only took from them their money, which amounted to 500 crowns, but also stripped, bound, and exposed them to all sorts of insults and inhumanities, when they led,them through the popish countries, in order to bring them to Turin; insomuch that as they passed through the cantons of Friburg, the physician Basti was, by means of their hatred of the protestant religion, left for dead under the weight of the blows which they gave him, and whereof he wore the marks all his life; and in fine, they were shut up in the prisons of the said city of Turin, where they remained in a miserable condition for several months, in which time four of them died.

Let us leave these unfortunate prisoners, waiting for their deliverance, whereof we shall speak when we come to the surprising place which will untie the knot of this history. Those who waited for them, not knowing how things went with them, being weary of waiting, and fearing they should be discovered if they tarried longer, thought now of nothing but of passing the lake, to the number of 800 or 900; and indeed it was high time, for a report was already whispered in all the neighborhood, that there were people hid in the woods of Nion. This report, which seemed to make very much against them, was, by divine grace, very favorable to them; for several wagers having been laid in the neighboring places, that it was the Vaudois, who were about some new enterprise, curiosity led several private persons to come in boats to the places where it was said they were.

The Vaudois, who had kept but four little boats in pay, rightly judging that they would not be sufficient to transport them to the other side of the lake, with as much speed as necessity required, they immediately seized the boats of those who came there out of curiosity; insomuch that having by this means 14 or 15 boats, and M. Arnaud, who was then called M. de la Tour, having prayed with them, they embarked between 9 and o’clock at night, Friday, the 16th of August, 1659. As there had been a general fast that day throughout the protestant cantons, and the people being still wholly engaged in devotion, this did not a little contribute to the tranquillity in which they passed the lake. However, all this was not so managed as to prevent one of the blackest treacheries, for one M. Prangin, son of the late M. de Baltasar, who had bought an estate near to Nion, having run thither out of curiosity, as many others did, after he had upon his knees heard M. Arnaud at prayer, run all the remaining part of the night, like another Judas, to Geneva, and there declared to the French resident what he had seen and heard, who immediately went to Lyons to order the dragoons to march against this flock of the Vaudois.

Their first passage was happy, and without accident, and if a wind arose, which separated their boats, scattering them a little, it seems to have been only that one from Geneva, which brought eighteen of their men, might join them; in the meantime they had this misfortune, that having, after their first passage, sent back the boats to fetch those who could not come over the first time, there returned but three, the rest running away, though they were paid beforehand; by which means not being able to tarry any longer, they found themselves obliged to leave above 200 of their men upon the shore of Switzerland, to decamp at soonest from a place where they were too much in danger. They had also the mortification to see the three boats, who remained honest, bring over several good men, who would not stir a step farther, unless they were furnished with arms: and to hear that several others, who departed from Lausanne, the 15th, at night, having been stopped in the way, had been released too late to have been able to arrive at the time of their embarkation.

I shall not enter into the motive which induced the watermen to serve them in the manner aforesaid; it is probable that the fear of losing their lives in Savoy, if they should be taken there; and of being ill-used in Switzerland, if they were found out there, contributed very much to it. I shall only relate, by the by, a fact which is singular enough, viz. one Signal, a refugee, of the town of Tonneins in Guinne, a zealous man, who was settled at Nion, in the quality of a waterman, offered to carry over the Vandois for nothing. In short, he did it with the other watermen: but going out of his boat with his fare, in order to take leave of his friends, whilst he was doing it, the other watermen his companions not only went away, but also carried back his boat. It was to no purpose for him to run and call after them to take him in; not one of them would do it, insomuch that he found himself at a great nonplus, for should he return home by land, he was apprehensive it would cost him his life if the Savoyards should catch him; the Vaudois seeing him in this perplexity on their account, told him he ought not to regret the loss of his boat, since if he would embrace their cause, they would give him, instead of a little boat, a good house, which he accepted, and joined with them.

I easily imagine that the reader is impatient to know what the Vandois, who were so small in number, could do in a country which were their declared enemies. They landed over against the wood of Nion, between Nernier and Ivoire; and they landed there with a resolution to proceed to recover their country sword in hand, and to replant there the true church of Jesus Christ. As what they did in order to compass a design, which seems perfectly:impossible for so few people, is altogether extraordinary, that I may speak of it more clearly and more regularly, I shall here most faithfully relate whatsoever happened day by day. The First Day’s Journey.

M. Arnaud, with fourteen others, having set the first foot on the eastern shore flora Geneva, immediately placed good sentinels in all the avenues, and applied himself to rank the people in order, as they landed; when all those who could come over were arrived, they formed a regular body, which M. Bourgeois, citizen of Neufchatel, was to command; but he failed of coming to the rendezvous, the reasons whereof shall not be mentioned here. This body was divided into nineteen companies, whereof six were composed of strangers, almost all of Languedoc and of Dauphine, and the other thirteen of different Vaudois communities.

Angrogne had three companies, whose captains were Laurence Buffe, Stephen Frasche, and Michael Bertin.

St. John, two; under Captains Bellion and Belson.

La Tour one; under Captain John Frasche.

Villar, one; under Captain Paul Pelene.

Bobi, two; under Captains Martinat and Mondon.

Prarustin, one; under Captain Daniel Odin.

St. Germain and Pramol, one; under Captain Robert.

Macel, one; under Captain Philip Trone Poulat.

Pales, one; under Captain Peirot.

The six companies of strangers were commanded by the Sieurs Martin, Privat, Lucas, Turel, Tonfrede, and Chien.

And as there were several soldiers who would not list themselves in any of these companies, they formed of them a company of volunteers; and divided the whole into three bodies, viz. the van guard, corps de battaille, and a rear guard; according to the ordinary method of regular troops, which the Vaudois always observed in their marches. They had besides M.

Arnaud, whom one may call their patriarch, two ministers, Monsieur Cyrus Chyon, sometime minister of the church of Pont a Royans in Dauphine, and Monsieur Montoux of Pragelas, who was first minister of the church of Chambons in his own country, and afterwards of the French church of Coire in that of the Grisons, where he had left his family, to follow his countrymen.

After having provided for their safety, they implored the assistance of heaven to conduct their enterprise; after which the said sieur Chyon their minister, went to the nearest village to endeavor to get a guide; but a knight of Savoy, who had discovered our people upon the shore of the lake, having alarmed the people every where, that minister was detained prisoner, and afterwards conducted to Chamberi, where he was kept till the conclusion of the peace between the Duke of Savoy and the Vaudois.

The same knight who gave the alarm, advancing with his pistol in hand towards our people, M. Arnaud, with the sieur Turel, and six fusileers, went after him; but he was so quick in turning tail, that he escaped by flight, from a musket shot which was discharged at him. Now seeing hereby that every body was alarmed, and that they had no time to lose, they sent to Ivoir some officers with twelve fusileers to induce the inhabitants of that village to lay down their arms, and to grant them a passage. These hearing, that in case it was refused, they threatened them all with fire and ‘sword, did indeed grant what was demanded; but however did not forbear to fire a beacon, which had like to have been their ruin; for perhaps their town would have been set on fire, if the Vaudois had not been in a disposition to receive the excuse they brought, which was, that some chil-dred had committed that fault; insomuch that they forgave them, upon condition that the governor and an officer should be their guides: whom indeed they sent back after they had marched half a league; after which they took for hostages the governor of Nernier, with Messieurs de Cou-dries, and de Fora, gentlemen of the country, who were also released in a short time after, the Vaudois being willing to show nothing but humanity wherever they met with no resistance. They indeed observed so regular a discipline, that the peasants With their cures came out to see this troop pass by, and could not forbear praying for them, calling out to them, “God be with you;” and the curate of Filli opened his cellar to them, and made them refresh themselves, and would not take any money of them. Sometime after four gentlemen of Savoy, well mounted and well armed, riding directly up to this little army, were stopped by the van guard, and having desired to speak with some of the officers, they demanded their order, and why they marched thus armed: they were answered, that it was not for them to ask for their order, and that it was well known upon what design they had taken up arms. Being shocked at so resolute an answer, they commanded them to lay them down; but no sooner was the word out of their mouth, but discovering the main body, which was approaching, they immediately changed their tone; and having caused some peasants, which were with them, to retire, they would have betaken themselves to flight, if they had not been slopped, and obliged to alight from their horses, and to march on foot as prisoners, at the head of the troop; which they did only to make them repent of their temerity, in commanding them to lay down their arms. Having ascended a little hill, they found 200 peasants in arms near a wood; they made a detachment, whom they sent to give them chase, the main body in the mean time joined the wood, apprehending that there might be some in ambuscade. M.

Gropel, marshal of the household troops of his royal highness and the sieur Mouche, governor of Boege, who commanded these peasants, made no great resistance. After having bruised their arms, and broke their drums, the Vaudois took some of them to serve as guides, threatening to hang them up on the first tree if they did not acquit themselves faithfully; they also took with them one of the two gentlemen who commanded them, to the end he might bear witness that they committed no disorder in the route. As they passed by his house, he would have given them some refreshments, but they would not hear of it, either because they did not trust him, or because they did not think it convenient to make any stay.

As they rightly judged, that the people would be every where in arms, they thought good to make one of the gentlemen aforementioned write in their behalf, which he did in the following manner: “THESE gentlemen arrived here to the number of 2000, they desired us to accompany them, that we might be able to give an account of their conduct; and we can assure you, that it is very orderly; they pay for whatever they take, and desire only a free passage; therefore, we desire you not to ring the alarm-bell, nor to beat the drum, and to withdraw your people in case they are up in arms.”

This letter, which was subscribed by that gentleman and others, and sent into the town of Viu, had a very good effect, for it afterwards raised a kind of emulation among the people, who should most readily bring them what they wanted in their route: and indeed the peasants were every where ordered to lay down their arms, and to furnish our travelers with horses and carriages for their clothes, which they so speedily executed, that they found every thing ready for them in all the places where they came.

However, as we every where find some who transgress orders, a peasant fired upon a Vaudois soldier; but having missed him, and the soldier pursuing him, he flung down his arms, and was taken prisoner. Another soldier killed a peasant as he was running away armed; and they found among those who fled, one of those Dominicans, who are called Hermits des Ovatons; he had a dagger under his cassock, but contributed, however, very much, by his endeavors, to procure them free passage. As night came on, they stopped near Viu, a village of Foucigni, from whence they had bread brought them, for which they paid, and one of the gentlemen not being able to march any further, was dismissed; after having thus made a hall, to give the inhabitants of Viu, to whom they had sent the letter, time to withdraw, in case they were in arms, they entered the village in the twilight; and having refreshed themselves, they left it two hours after, marching by moon-light; but in half an hour’s time it grew so dark that they made the hostages write another billet to the town of St. Joyre, through which they were to pass in a little time, where indeed, they arrived in half an hour, without meeting any opposition; nay, so far from it, that the people came out in crowds to see our Vaudois, and even the magistrates ordered a ton of wine to be left in the middle of the street, to the discretion of the soldiers, whereof some of them drank, and others would not so much as taste it, for fear it was poisoned. After they had passed over some planks, they came to a rising ground, where they made a halt in an open field: the place was called Carman; it was midnight, and though it rained a little, they tarried there till day, and passed the night in resting their wearied limbs after so long and continual march, and slept a little, to be in a better condition to pass the bridge Marni, which they were apprehensive was cut down. Having here taken the brothers of Georges, they released the two hostages they had taken a Boege. The Second Day’s Journey.

The 17th of August, being Sunday, they found the bridge Marni in good order, and passed it without resistance, and so entered into a little valley which was very agreeable; the peasants having abandoned it, they took some of the fruits they found there as they passed through. At 10 o’clock in the morning, they came near to Cluse, which is a pretty little walled town, situated upon the river Arve: it was necessary to pass through this town, upon the banks of whose ditches the inhabitants were all up in arms; and the peasants coming down from the mountains, made it ring with the injurious language wherewith they loaded the Vaudois, who, though they were greatly incommoded by a storm of rain, advanced within musket shot, with a resolution to force their passage, which the people made a show of being resolved to dispute with them; at the same time M. de Fora having heard that some of them said, that in case of resistance they must kill the hostages, and being afraid of his own person, desired that he might be permitted to write to the chief persons of the town; which they granted, and he wrote, representing the danger to which they exposed themselves, in refusing, passage to men who had given no occasion of complaint in all the places through which they had passed. As they carried this billet to M. de la Rochette, de la Croix, just then the Chevalier de Rides, M. de la Charboniere, and M. de Lochen, gentlemen of distinction, were coming out of the town to capitulate. They detained the two former, and at their request sent back the letter with a Vaudois officer; when that officer was in the town, they demanded their order, who having boldly answered, it was at the point of his sword; they presently saw that they were in earnest, and therefore they granted them their passage without delay, upon condition that they should pass through, and be furnished with provisions upon paying for them, which was performed accordingly.

They passed through that town, the inhabitants, who were up in arms, making a lane for them; M. Arnaud perceiving that there were no guards at the gates, placed one at the gate through which they defiled, that he might be so much the more secure of the inhabitants; as they were thus defiling, M. de la Rochette advanced to invite some of the officers to dine with him, from which they excused themselves; and having insensibly drawn him out of the town, they told him, that they expected five loads of wine, and five hundred weight of bread. He presently wrote a billet to his father, who immediately sent them a ton of wine, and as much bread as they needed.

Several of them eat and drank, and others, seeing that it too much retarded their march, flung the ton into the river, to the great displeasure of others, who would have been glad to have quenched their thirst with it; M. de la Tour, i.e. M. Arnaud, paid five louisd’ors, with which the inhabitants seemed to be well satisfied. As they were refreshing themselves, they perceived some children running towards Salanches, and suspecting that it was to give them notice of their coming, they made them turn back. When they were about to march, M. de la Rochette, and M. de Rides would have returned, under pretense of going to mass, but they carried them away; and perceiving that a servant of the former had slily crept into the troop, they had some suspicion of him, and, in short, having searched him, they found upon him letters which M. de la Rochette, the father, had written to the chiefs of Salanches; these letters exhorted them to take up arms, assuring them that whilst they attacked them in front, those of Cluse would not fail to charge their rear. Wherefore expecting an attack, and resolving to make a good defense, they defiled near a long valley which was very narrow, and bordered upon by great mountains, from whence one might have defeated a whole army with stones; which, would have been the easier, because the river Arve, by the side of which they must pass, was so swelled by the rains, as to leave almost no room to pass. They found in the midst of their way a village and a castle, named Magland; the peasants, who were up in arms, contented themselves with being spectators of their march, and M. de Loche, who was lord there, after having mightily caressed the officers, found himself obliged to march with them, and for his comfort they also took his curate with them. They affected on this occasion to march confusedly, that not being able to count them easily, their number might not be known; and as they perceived on the other side of the river a horseman, who rode full speed, they guessed that he was going to carry news of the arrival of our Vaudois to Salanches, which is a pretty good town of trade, and a capital of the county Foucigni. In order to arrive there, he must pass over a great wooden bridge, upon which there are houses, and which was within a quarter of a league of it. It was there that Lieutenant Colonel Mallet, with a single battalion of religionaries, did the year following stop M. de St. Ruth with a little army. Being within a hundred paces of the bridge, and believing that their passage would be disputed, the officers formed several parties of their men, to one of which they committed the care of their hostages, amongst whom there were persons of distinction, as well gentlemen as churchmen, and ordered that party to kill them all, in case the Savoyards should fire upon them, whilst they were putting themselves in order, which they did more to intimidate them than out of any design to put it in execution. And that they might be in a condition to attack the bridge, they detached three captains, guarded by six sentinels, to go and demand passage of the town. These met six of the principal men of the place on horseback, who seeing them, posted off as fast as they could; but our people were so quick at their heels that they caught one of them, whom they led away; the others, seeing their companion taken, turned about and came directly to us, namely, M. de Carnillon, M. de Castan, first syndic of the town; M. Fontaine, governor, the sieurs de Bergerat and St. Amour. M. de Caytan having represented that the passage they demanded, being an affair of too great importance to be decided by them alone, it would be necessary that they should go and call together the council of the town to deliberate that affair: they consented to it, allowing them half an hour to resolve themselves, threatening when that time should be expired, they would force the bridge: and as they were about to execute this menace, the said gentlemen returned, telling them the time they had granted them was too short to be able to determine such a demand, and being sensible that they were not in a humor to wait till they should receive succor, they would have returned, but the Vandois making the sieurs St. Amour and Fontaine alight, very civilly intreated them to increase the number of their hostages. This compliment not being relished by them, they desired that one of the two, with one of the other hostages, might be sent into the town to represent to the inhabitants the danger they were in. The Vaudois could easily have forced their passage, without having tarried for all these parleys; but as they had proposed, like good Christians, to spare human blood as much as it was possible; and on the other hand, policy prompting them to manage their people according to the occasions which it was absolutely necessary for them to improve, they were willing to try another method, and to let one of the two last go with one of their other hostages, upon condition that they should bring back an answer, either good or bad: but instead of seeing them again, they, on the contrary, heard the alarm-bell ring, and saw about 600 men in arms, who drew up near the bridge. Our champions seeing it necessary to free the passage of the bridge by dint of sword, found several little bodies, two of which being advanced to make the attack, they saw four Capuchins coming, and as Christian charity induced us to believe that such soldiers sought rather peace than war, they received them civilly. As plenipotentiaries from the town they offered them their passage upon condition they should release the hostages and horses, offering at the same time to give them in their room two of the principal men of the town; this condition of giving up our hostages of distinction, and who through the fear they had of hazarding their lives too much, caused the people wherever they passed, to lay down their arms Without striking a stroke, appeared at first sight too prejudicial to our Vaudois; however, reflecting on the other hand, that they offered them two others, and that fortune might yet put several more into their hands, they accepted the proposal; but having perceived the two hostages, whom they brought from the town, to be but two poor wretches, whom they said were syndics; M. Arnaud, with indignation at the shameful manner in which they would deceive them, advanced towards the Capuchins, who remarking in his countenance a design to seize them, endeavored to escape, by which means he seized but two; for the other two knew how to tuck up their gowns so advantageously for flight, that they escaped. The two who were seized having demanded why they detained them contrary to the law of nations, which forbids seizing on persons who are sent to capitulate; they were answered, that it was because, contrary to the dignity of their gown, and of the character they bore, they had deceived the Vaudois, and impudently lied to them, in attempting to impose on them the miller for the syndic of the town; and having silenced them with this answer, they entered them into the number and company of the hostages. It must also be owned to their honor, that they were a great help to the Vaudois, for upon all occasions when they wanted to obtain a passage, their remonstrances, their intercessions, and their intreaties, were always so prevalent with those who would dispute it with them, that the Vaudois were more astonished than ever, at the power which these good fathers had over the minds of those of their religion. But I shall leave the reader to judge, whether the zeal which they thus showed, proceeded from the fear in which they were continually, or from a true Christian motive.

To return to the business in hand, the capitulation being thus made void, they ordered a detachment to march, which passed the bridge without opposition, and guarded it with forty soldiers, to secure the main body in its march: the whole having passed over, they drew up in battalia within twenty paces of the hedges, behind which the inhabitants were intrenched, and as they saw that we did not fire upon them, but that on the contrary, apprehending that we were going to set the town on fire, as we had threatened, they very civilly sent back two soldiers, whom they had taken prisoners. We passed through very peaceably, and after having taken great compass, arrived at a village called Cablau, where we tarried all night, judging it convenient to rest ourselves; for besides the badness of the way, we had all day long the rain at our backs. It is certain, that finding neither meat nor drink, nor fire to dry ourselves, the rest which we had promised ourselves was very indifferent. However, though these poor people were all wet, and almost starved, they had reason to give thanks to God for this rain, which, without doubt, had been the cause that they were not pursued, as they had all day apprehended they should. The Third Day’s Journey.

If the Vaudois were not disturbed on Monday, the 19th, by the managements and projects of those of Cluse, of Magian, and of Salanches, they were however very much surprised to hear of the rugged and difficult way they were to go this day, having two craggy mountains to climb up, and to descend; and therefore, as they were passing early in the morning by a village where there was wine, they furnished themselves with good store thereof, paying ready money for it.

In the morning they sounded two trumpets which they had taken with them instead of drums, which would have been too inconvenient for them; and being gathered together, they thought it convenient to unload their fusees, and to charge them anew; after which they began their march through a small rain. They passed by several little villages which were quite forsaken, till they came to a town called Migeves, or Beaufort, where the inhabitants were up in arms; but as they met with no resistance, so there followed no disorder. Having passed through this place, they recovered the height of the mountain, where having found several forsaken hamlets, they rested, by reason of the rain: and as there were on either side of these, conveniences for the cattle, which, during the summer, are sent to pasture, and where they milked their cows, the hostages which were with them, perceiving that they did not meddle therewith, and not relishing their frugal way of living, said one to another, that they very much wondered that so great a body should be so very reserved in their march; adding, that in the article of provisions it was customary with soldiers to take them wherever they found them, without giving the least offense. This intimation, or rather this reproach, from persons who were in the interest of the country, their example, and the shepherds forsaking their cottages, joined to the hunger which our Vaudois now underwent; altogether made them begin to break into their own rules, by taking bread, cheese, milk, and in general, all sorts of provisions which they found, and for which, indeed, they would have paid, had they known to whom.

They came at length to the second mountain, called the Mountain de Haute lute, whereof the first sight terrified them; for indeed it is one of the most craggy, and appeared much more so at that time, by reason of the rains, of the snow, and of the great fog wherewith it was covered; for the fog was:so thick that the guide wondering thereat, they easily persuaded him that it was clouds, by which God hid the Vaudois from the sight of their enemies. Being then, after a fatigue, which is more easy to imagine than express, arrived to the top, they found a forsaken farm, where they took milk and some other trifles for their provisions; after which having scoured the country, they brought some peasants to supply the guide’s place, who thinking himself to be in the clouds, had lost all knowledge of the passes. However, they soon perceived that these led them by the most tedious and most dangerous ways, not through ignorance, but malice; and without doubt to give the Savoyards time to come and sacrifice the Vaudois in those frightful by-ways, which M. Arnaud remedied by threatening them very seriously to have them hanged.

If this zealous leader of this little flock knew how to strike those with terror who would have thus deceived him, he was no less skillful in raising and quickening the courage of those who followed him, by his good and holy exhortations; although it seemed they must unavoidably sink under the load of all sorts of miseries, which were increased in this place by the insupportable fatigue they had in getting through a passage that was cut in a rock, where they climbed up, and came down as from a ladder, and where twenty persons might without difficulty have destroyed 20,000. If it be a hard task to climb up a rough mountain, it is also well known that it is no easy matter to descend a steep one, and indeed they were forced to descend this always in a sitting posture, and sliding as down a precipice, without any other light than what the whiteness of the snow afforded them; and in this manner they arrived late at night at St. Nicolas de Verose, a parish which consists only of a few shepherds’ cottages. In this place, which was as deep as an abyss, desolate and cold, they were obliged to halt, without finding wherewith to make a fire; insomuch, that in order to get fuel they uncovered the cottages; that is to say, in order to avoid one evil they brought upon themselves another, being by this means exposed to the injury of the rain, which lasted all night. The Fourth Day’s Journey.

On Tuesday, the 20th, their impatience to quit so wretched a post before day, caused two unhappy accidents; the first was, that Captain Maynier, a Vaudois, and a good soldier, was wounded in both his thighs by a musket-shot which was let off by accident in the dark; the second misfortune was occasioned by the spreading of a report that Savoyards had crept into their body with a design to attack the Vaudois when time and place should serve; a Vaudois taking for one of these people, the sieur Bailiff, refugee of Lausanne, who had abandoned his settlement to join himself to our travelers, gave him a blow with the buttend of his gun; and if this captain had not begged of him to give him time to say his prayers, which he did upon his knees, he would without doubt have taken away his life, having already given him a stroke with his bayonet, which entered no farther than his clothes. In this place also Captain Chien, discouraged by so many fatigues, which, by reason of his tenderness, he could no longer undergo, deserted, taking a very fine horse from a place where they left six others.

In the morning they ascended, or rather clambered up one of the ruggedest cliffs of the mountain called Du Bon Homme, being up to their knees in snow, and having the rain in their backs. As they knew that for fear of the Vaudois, and upon the report of their former enterprises, whereof we have spoken before, they had the year before built very fine forts and intrenchments, with embrasures and coverts, in a place so advantageously situated, that thirty persons could not only have stopped them there, but also entirely defeated them, they marched therefore in expectation of a bloody action; but the Lord, who was always with this flock of believers, permitted them to find those fine fortifications empty and without guards; because the people, being weary with having kept them a long time to no purpose, had abandoned them. A favor from heaven! for which they returned God thanks upon the spot! After having marched a long time, descending still in the snow, they found some houses, where they bought a ton of wine to drink in their march; and perceiving that the rear guard tarried too long behind, they halted in a little village to wait for them; but seeing that they did not come, they thought it advisable to discharge their fusees: then those who composed it, imagining that there was a skirmish, forsook the wine which had detained them, and made up to them with all speed. Being in the valleys, it was necessary as they marched along the Isera, frequently to cross that river, which, as it winds very much, was a means of shortening their way: and because this by-way in a very narrow valley, and almost covered by the river, which had then overflowed its banks, ap- peared dangerous, and because they expected to meet with resistance, they marched for some time two abreast; and indeed they discovered upon the top of a hill several peasants, who, with the help of their guns, and the stones, whereof they had provided good store, might easily, in so narrow a place, have rendered their passage extremely difficult. And to speak the truth, the Vaudois reckoned at least that they must pay very dear for it, supposing they should be so happy as to force it; but they were agreeably deceived when they saw, even beyond all their hopes, that these people did not so much as put themselves into a disposition to stop them.

These peasants seeing that their presence had not frightened our Vaudois, returned as fast as they could into their village, and thinking they should terrify them more by giving every where the alarm, they rung the alarmbell:, and presently there was every where heard a most horrible clanging of all the bells, which, however, did not prevent their arrival at the bridge which they sought. Being come up, they found it barricadoed with great trees and beams laid across one upon another, and guarded by armed peasants, some having guns, others scythes, pitchforks, and such like weapons: they had no sooner made some dispositions to attack them, but the Count de la val d’lsere, lord of that valley, a gentleman of the chamber of Madam Royale, came to parley with them, i.e. to grant them free passage, the peasants themselves taking the pains to clear the bridge, and even the curate himself laid also his hand to the work: after which, lest they should be burnt out, as they had been threatened, they retired into their village, which was a musket shot off the other side of the river: as for monsieur the count, after he had delivered his message, he posted off fall speed, so much did he fear being joined to our hostages, who, as soon as they saw any person of distinction, used to say to Monsieur Arnaud, “there is a good bird for our cage;” they put two priests to sing in it, a third being released by reason of his great age; and after having passed through the little town of Sey, without committing any disorder, although they had made a great noise with their bells, and the inhabitants had taken arms, and it was very well known that the lord of it had shut himself up in his castle: they encamped very near this little town, from whence they had as much provisions as they would, paying two pence a pound for their bread, only M. Arnaud voluntarily paid three pence; and they had so great plenty of it, that some of the inhabitants came to buy of the soldiers. In this camp they. thus finished their fourth day’s march. The Fifth Day’s Journey.

On Wednesday, the 21st, they began their march before day. The villages through which they passed in the valley of Isera were all abandoned: however, a man, who had not thought fit to fly, as others did, but had shut himself up in his house, sold bread to our soldiers from a gallery. The time being come to make a halt, they rested near a little town, called Sancta Foy, which was not abandoned, whence they were supplied with bread, wine, and meat, paying for them; nor did the least disorder happen, the officers having prevented it by placing good guards in every quarter; nay, they were even surprised in this place by the obliging manner of their reception; for several gentlemen, with a great number of people, came out to our Vaudois, and accosting them very civilly, showed joy at the sight of them, praising their design of endeavoring to re-enter their country; and in fine, desired their company all night, offering to bake bread, to kill cattle, and to furnish them with wine for the refreshment of their troops. All these fine and engaging words insensibly staid our people, who perhaps had been capable of being persuaded to their ruin, if M. Arnaud, who was then of the rear guard, perceiving that they did not march, had not advanced to know the meaning of it: the officers having related to him the lively offers made to them by the gentlemen of the town, he gave no heed thereto. And having laid it down as a maxim, always to distrust the affected caresses of the enemy, he not only made the troops march, but also obliged the gentlemen flatterers to bear them company, looking upon them as men, who undoubtedly had a design to be their ruin in the midst of all the advantages promised them. Leaving that place, they entered a narrow vale, between two mountains, covered with tall spreading forest trees; this vale was cut through by tracks, which were very easily to be followed; but had they taken away the beams which, were laid across the little river or stream that watered it, it would have been impossible for our people to have forced a passage, and they would doubtless have been obliged to have marched back; however, they happily arrived at Viller Rougy, where their vanguard seized a curate, who was making an escape, and some peasants with him.

As they came out of this dismal dale, they saw a great many of the country people, who, abandoning their houses, were retiring to the other side of the river. They came afterwards to Eutigne, a village situated in a little plain encompassed with mountains, where they found nobody, the inhabitants having fled to the top of the mountains, where they appeared in arms. A detachment was made to go and give them chase, and one Frenchman only was wounded on the occasion. At evening they encamped near a village called Laval, where they passed the night in a meadow, making a great fire, and fetching provisions from the abandoned houses: the principal men of the village treated the officers, and in this house M.

Arnaud and M. Montoux, his colleague, after having been eight days, and as many nights, almost without eating, drinking, or sleeping, having supped, did at length take three hours rest on a bed: and they can truly say, that never meal nor rest was more acceptable to them. The Sixth Day’s Journey.

The next day, being Thursday, the 22d, they passed through the town of Tigne, where they obliged the people to return the money taken, as mentioned before, from the two men whom our Vaudois had sent to spy out the country: the inhabitants were very glad to come off with that bare restitution, being apprehensive that they should have been more severely punished: and because they there discharged some gentlemen of their hostages, and some others stole away, having doubtless corrupted their keepers with money; they had the precaution to fill up their places with two priests and an attorney; after which they came to the ascent of the mountain Tisseran, or Isseran, from whence the river Isera takes its name.

After having thus marched stone time, they halted, in order to separate the companies, and to create some new officers. This done, they came into bad ways, in the pastures under the Alps, where there was abundance of cattle, and where the shepherds, who had not run away, entertained our travelers with their milk meats; giving them to understand at the same time, that they would find it very difficult to re-enter their country, since, though their passage had not hitherto been disputed with them, yet it would be in a very little time by a great number of soldiers, who waited for them at the foot of Mount Cenis, without stirring from thence.

This news, instead of alarming them, did on the contrary inflame their hearts, for knowing that the fortune of their arms depended absolutely on God, for whose glory they were going to fight, they did by no means doubt but that he would himself open to them a passage wheresoever their enemies should pretend to shut it up against them. In this hope they courageously descended the said Maurien mountain, and passing through the territory of the same name, they came into a little village called Bonneval, where the curate was mighty urgent to make the officers drink, and where they had whatsoever they desired, though they had soundly punished a peasant who would not march. From thence they marched directly to a town called Bezais, where they were sensible they should meet with the most rascally rabble that was under heaven: in short, being arrived there, they found that the inhabitants, far from running away, did, on the contrary, appear very arrogant, they even used threatenings, and by their insolences, obliged the Vaudois to be revenged of them, and to punish them, by taking some of their mules, and leading away with them the curate, the governor, and six peasants, who were bound for their greater mortification. As