he reformed, where the
monasteries appeared, not only as fortresses to curb, but as sanctuaries
for all such to fly to, as had any ways injured them.

The protestants petitioned the duke of Savoy against these missionaries,
whose insolence and ill-usage were become intolerable; but instead of
getting any redress, the interest of the missionaries so far prevailed,
that the duke published a decree, in which he declared, that one witness
should be sufficient in a court of law against a protestant, and that
any witness, who convicted a protestant of any crime whatever, should be
entitled to one hundred crowns.

It may be easily imagined, upon the publication of a decree of this
nature, that many protestants fell martyrs to perjury and avarice; for
several villanous papists would swear any thing against the protestants
for the sake of the reward, and then fly to their own priests for
absolution from their false oaths. If any Roman catholic, of more
conscience than the rest, blamed these fellows for their atrocious
crimes, they themselves were in danger of being informed against and
punished as favourers of heretics.

The missionaries did all they could to get the books of the protestants
into their hands, in order to burn them; when the protestants doing
their utmost endeavours to conceal their books, the missionaries wrote
to the duke of Savoy, who, for the heinous crime of not surrendering
their bibles, prayer-books, and religious treatises, sent a number of
troops to be quartered on them. These military gentry did great mischief
in the houses of the protestants, and destroyed such quantities of
provisions, that many families were thereby ruined.

To encourage, as much as possible, the apostacy of the protestants, the
duke of Savoy published a proclamation wherein he said, "To encourage
the heretics to turn catholics, it is our will and pleasure, and we do
hereby expressly command, that all such as shall embrace the holy Roman
catholic faith, shall enjoy an exemption, from all and every tax for the
space of five years, commencing from the day of their conversion." The
duke of Savoy likewise established a court, called the council for
extirpating the heretics. This court was to enter into inquiries
concerning the ancient privileges of the protestant churches, and the
decrees which had been, from time to time, made in favour of the
protestants. But the investigation of these things was carried on with
the most manifest p