actually done was that the strong places were first taken
away, and then came the Revocation; after which the Calvinists found
themselves completely at the mercy of their mortal enemies.

From 1669, when Louis first threatened to aim a fatal blow at the
civil rights of the Huguenots, by abolishing the equal partition of the
Chambers between the two parties, several deputations had been sent to
him praying him to stop the course of his persecutions; and in order
not to give him any fresh excuse for attacking their party, these
deputations addressed him in the most submissive manner, as the
following fragment from an address will prove:

"In the name of God, sire," said the Protestants to the king, "listen to
the last breath of our dying liberty, have pity on our sufferings, have
pity on the great number of your poor subjects who daily water their
bread with their tears: they are all filled with burning zeal and
inviolable loyalty to you; their love for your august person is only
equalled by their respect; history bears witness that they contributed
in no small degree to place your great and magnanimous ancestor on his
rightful throne, and since your miraculous birth they have never done
anything worthy of blame; they might indeed use much stronger terms,
but your Majesty has spared their modesty by addressing to them on many
occasions words of praise which they would never have ventured to
apply to themselves; these your subjects place their sole trust in your
sceptre for refuge and protection on earth, and their interest as well
as their duty and conscience impels them to remain attached to the
service of your Majesty with unalterable devotion."

But, as we have seen, nothing could restrain the triumvirate which held
the power just then, and thanks to the suggestions of Pere Lachaise and
Madame de Maintenon, Louis XIV determined to gain heaven by means of
wheel and stake.

As we see, for the Protestants, thanks to these numerous decrees,
persecution began at the cradle and followed them to the grave.

As a boy, a Huguenot could--enter no public school; as a youth, no
career was open to him; he could become neither mercer nor concierge,
neither apothecary nor physician, neither lawyer nor consul. As a man,
he had no sacred house, of prayer; no registrar would inscribe his
marriage or the birth of his children; hourly his liberty and his
conscience were ignored. If he ventured to worship God by the singing of
psalms