ake part in the
expedition came together from various quarters. Some came from
Brandenburg, others from Bavaria and distant parts of Switzerland; and
among those who joined them was a body of French Huguenots, willing to
share in their dangers and their glory. One of their number, Captain
Turrel, like Arnaud, a native of Die in Dauphiny, was even elected as
the general of the expedition. Their rendez-vous was in the forest of
Prangins, near Nyon, on the north bank of the Lake of Geneva; and
there, on the night of the 16th of August, 1689, they met in the
hollow recesses of the wood. Fifteen boats had been got together, and
lay off the shore. After a fervent prayer by the pastor-general
Arnaud, imploring a blessing upon the enterprise, as many of the men
as could embark got into the boats. As the lake is there at its
narrowest, they soon rowed across to the other side, near the town of
Yvoire, and disembarked on the shore of Savoy. Arnaud had posted
sentinels in all directions, and the little body waited the arrival of
the remainder of their comrades from the opposite shore. They had all
crossed the lake by two o'clock in the morning; and about eight
hundred men, divided into nineteen companies,[109] each provided with
its captain, were now ready to march.

[Footnote 109: Of the nineteen companies three were composed
of the Vaudois of Angrogna; those of Bobi and St. John
furnished two each; and those of La Tour, Villar, Prarustin,
Prali, Macel, St. Germain, and Pramol, furnished one each.
The remaining six companies were composed of French Huguenot
refugees from Dauphiny and Languedoc under their respective
officers. Besides these, there were different smaller parties
who constituted a volunteer company. The entire force of
about eight hundred men was marshalled in three
divisions--vanguard, main body, and rearguard--and this
arrangement was strictly observed in the order of march.]

At the very commencement, however, they met with a misfortune. One of
the pastors, having gone to seek a guide in the village near at hand,
was seized as a prisoner by the local authorities, and carried off. On
this, the Vaudois, seeing that they were treated as enemies, sent a
party to summon Yvoire to open its gates, and it obeyed. The lord of
the manor and the receiver of taxes were taken as hostages, and made
to accompany the troop until