theless, we have willed and ordained that the execution
and accomplishment of our said letters, prohibitions and injunctions, be
and continue suspended and surcease until we shall otherwise
provide."[342]

[Sidenote: Vigorous proceedings of parliament.]

Meantime, parliament had not been slack in obeying the command to search
diligently for the authors and publishers of the placards. Many reputed
"Lutherans" had been arrested, some of whom, it was given out, pretended
to reveal the existence of a plot of the reformers to fall upon the good
Christians of the metropolis while assembled in their churches for
divine worship, and assassinate them in the midst of their devotions!
The credulous populace made no difficulty in accepting the tale. Paris
shuddered at the thought of its narrow escape, and some hundreds of
thousands of men and women reverently crossed themselves and thanked
heaven they had not fallen a prey to the blood-thirsty designs of a
handful of peaceable and unarmed adherents of the "new doctrines!" As
for Francis himself, a grave historian tells us that his apprehensions
were inflamed by the very mention of the word "conspiracy."[343]

[Sidenote: Abundance of victims.]

The investigation had been committed to practised hands. The prosecuting
officer, or _lieutenant-criminel_, Morin, was as famous for his cunning
as he was notorious for his profligacy. Moreover, the judicious addition
of six hundred _livres parisis_ to his salary afforded him a fresh
stimulus and prevented his zeal from flagging.[344] The timidity or
treachery of one of the prisoners facilitated the inquest. Terrified by
the prospect of torture and death, or induced by hope of reward, a
person, obscurely designated as _le Guainier_, or _Gueynier_,[345] made
an ample disclosure of the names and residences of his former
fellow-believers. The pursuit was no longer confined to those who had
been concerned in the distribution of the placards. All reputed heretics
were apprehended, and, as rapidly as their trials could be prosecuted,
condemned to death. There was a rare harvest of falsehood and
misrepresentation. No wonder that innocent and guilty were involved in
one common fate.[346]

It does not come within the scope of this history to give an edifying
account of the courage displayed by the victims of the frenzy consequent
upon the placards. The very names of many are unknown. Among the first
to be committed to the flames was a young man,