cked, and hanged.

Repeated attempts were made to apprehend Antoine Court, as being the
soul of the renewed Protestant organization. A heavy reward was
offered for his head. The spies and police hunted after him in all
directions. Houses where he was supposed to be concealed were
surrounded by soldiers at night, and every hole and corner in them
ransacked. Three houses were searched in one night. Court sometimes
escaped with great difficulty. On one occasion he remained concealed
for more than twenty hours under a heap of manure. His friends
endeavoured to persuade him to leave the country until the activity of
the search for him had passed.

Since the year 1722, Court had undertaken new responsibilities. He had
become married, and was now the father of three children. He had
married a young Huguenot woman of Uzes. He first met her in her
father's house, while he was in hiding from the spies. While he was
engaged in his pastoral work his wife and family continued to live at
Uzes. Court was never seen in her company, but could only visit his
family secretly. The woman was known to be of estimable character, but
it gave rise to suspicions that she had three children without a known
father. The spies were endeavouring to unravel the secret, tempted by
the heavy reward offered for Court's head.

One day the new commandant of the town, passing before the door of the
house where Court's wife lived, stopped, and, pointing to the house,
put some questions to the neighbours. Court was informed of this, and
immediately supposed that his house had become known, that his wife
and family had been discovered and would be apprehended. He at once
made arrangements for having them removed to Geneva. They reached that
city in safety, in the month of April, 1729.

Shortly after, Court, still wandering and preaching about Languedoc,
became seriously ill. He feared for his wife, he feared for his
family, and conceived the design of joining them in Switzerland. A few
months later, exhausted by his labours and continued illness, he left
Languedoc and journeyed by slow stages to Geneva. He was still a young
man, only thirty-three; but he had worked excessively hard during the
last dozen years. Since the age of fourteen, in fact, he had
evangelized Languedoc.

Shortly before Court left France for Switzerland, the preacher,
Alexandre Roussel, was, in the year 1728, added to the number of
martyrs. He was only twenty-six years of age. The oc