icourt, came out to meet them:
the conference lasted three hours, but all that could be learned of the
result was that Salomon had declared that his brethren would never lay
down their arms till full liberty of conscience had been secured to them.
In consequence of this declaration, it was decided that Cavalier and his
regiment should be despatched to Spain without delay, in order to weaken
the Calvinist forces to that extent; meantime Salomon was sent back to
Roland with a positive promise that if he would surrender, as Cavalier
had done, he would be granted the same conditions--that is to say,
receive a commission as colonel, have the right to name the officers of
his regiment, and receive a pension of 1200 livres. On quitting the
garden of the Recollets, Cavalier found as great a crowd as ever waiting
for him, and so closely did they press on him that two of his men were
obliged to ride before him with drawn sabres to clear a way for him till
the Montpellier road was reached. He lay that night at Langlade, in
order to rejoin his troops early next morning.

But during his absence things had happened among these men, who had
hitherto obeyed him blindly, which he little expected. He had left, as
usual, Ravanel in command; but hardly had he ridden away when Ravanel
began to take all kinds of precautions, ordering the men not to lay aside
their arms. The negotiations with M. de Villars had made him most
anxious; he looked upon all the promises given as snares, and he regarded
the compromise favoured by his chief as a defection on Cavalier's part.
He therefore called all the officers and men together, told them of his
fears, and ended by imbuing them with his suspicions. This was all the
more easily done, as it was very well known that Cavalier had joined the
Huguenots less from devotion to the cause than to avenge a private wrong,
and on many occasions had given rise to the remark that he had more
genius than religion.

So, on getting back to Calvisson, the young chief found his principal
officers, Ravanel at their head, drawn up in the market-place, waiting
for him. As soon as he drew near they told him that they were determined
to know at once what were the conditions of the treaty he had signed with
the marechal; they had made up their minds to have a plain answer without
delay. Such a way of speaking to him was so strange and unexpected, that
Cavalier shrugged his shoulders and replied that such matters were no