al near his place of
confinement--the youth boldly lowered himself to the ground by the sheets
of his bed, and, with bare feet and no other clothing than a shirt, made
his way to Jonzac. There, after receiving an outfit from some Protestant
captains, he jotted down at the bottom of the receipt which he gave them
in return, the whimsical declaration "that never in his life would he
blame the war for having stripped him, since he could not possibly leave
it in a sorrier plight than that in which he entered it."[587]

[Sidenote: The court proscribes the reformed religion.]

The resolution and enthusiasm of the Huguenots were greatly augmented by
the imprudent course of the court. Notwithstanding their own guilty
designs, Catharine and the Cardinal of Lorraine were taken by surprise
when the news reached them that Conde and Coligny had escaped, and that
the Huguenots were everywhere arming. So sudden an outbreak had not been
expected; and, while awaiting the muster of that portion of the troops
that had been dismissed, but was now summoned to assemble at Etaples on
the 10th of September,[588] it was thought best to quiet the agitated
minds of the people. A declaration was accordingly published, assuring all
the adherents of the reformed faith who remained at home and furnished no
assistance to the enemy, of the royal protection, Charles promising, at
the same time, to give a gracious hearing to their grievances.[589] But,
as soon as the Roman Catholic forces began to collect in large numbers,
and the apprehension of a sudden assault by the Huguenots died away, the
court threw off the mask of conciliation, and Charles was made to sign two
laws unsurpassed for intolerance. The first purported to be "an
irrevocable and perpetual edict." It rehearsed the various steps taken by
Charles the Ninth and his brother Francis in reference to the "so-called
reformed religion," from the time of the tumult of Amboise. It alluded to
the edicts of July and of January--the latter adopted by the queen mother,
by advice of the Cardinals of Bourbon and Tournon, of the constable, of
Saint Andre, and others, because less objectionable than an edict
tolerating the worship of that religion _within_ the walls of the cities.
None of these concessions, it asserted, having satisfied the professors of
the new faith, who had collected money and raised troops with the intent
of establishing another government in place of that which God had
instituted, the