, as reported to him by parliament, he not only urged
that body to renewed diligence, but directed the Bishop of Paris, the
tolerant Jean du Bellay, who may have been suspected of too much
supineness in the matter,[325] to confer upon two counsellors of
parliament all the authority necessary to act for him, without prejudice
to his jurisdiction in other cases.[326] Both parliament and bishop
were at the same time notified of the receipt of two fresh bulls, kindly
furnished by Pope Clement, at Francis's request, to help in the good
work of extirpating "that accursed Lutheran sect."[327]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: Elegies on Louis de Berquin.]

The number of extant poems on the death of Louis de Berquin attests
very clearly the estimate placed upon him by the Roman Catholics as
the most dangerous heretic--in fact, the _heresiarch_ of the day. A
stanza of eight lines, which seems to have been popular (for it has
been discovered in MS. both in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Genin,
i. 219, and in the library of Soissons, Bulletin de la Soc. de
l'hist. du prot. franc., xi. 131), represents the four elements as
conspiring, at God's bidding, to take vengeance upon him:

"Du faux Berquin et de ses documens
Dieu s'est venge par les quatre elemens:
_Terre_ luy a desnie sepulture;
_Feu_ l'a destruit et sa fausse escripture;
Tisons par _eau_ pluviale arrosez
Se sont plus fort esmeus et embrasez.
Dont (pour la fin du malheureux comprendre)
L'_air_ par les vents en a receu la cendre."

I have been so fortunate as to discover two other poems on the same
subject, in a little collection in my possession entitled _Martini
Theodorici Bellovaci Epigrammata_ (Parisiis, 1539), which seems to
be of such rarity that these pieces may almost be viewed in the
light of inedited documents. They are of special interest because
of the singular circumstance that this collection of extremely
"Catholic" effusions is dedicated to _Odet de Coligny_, Cardinal of
Chatillon, Archbishop of Toulouse, Bishop and Count of Beauvais,
elder brother of the more famous _Admiral_ massacred on St.
Bartholomew's day. Cardinal Chatillon, created such when only
thirteen years old, was, at the time of the publication of this
book, a youth of scarcely more than twenty-two, and a