The Huguenot Bartholomew Dupuy and his descendants

THE HUGUENOT WARS. 43
was made to wrest the Huguenots from the ad- introd.
vantages of a victory, and to give the Romans 1568.
time to better prepare for war. Persecution
went on as usual. The Romish pulpits encouraged
by the court proclaimed that faith need
not be kept with heretics, and that to murder
them was just, pious and useful for salvation.
More than 3,000 Huguenots were either assassinated
or murdered in less than three months.
The Chancellor L'Hopital, on account of the
pacific measures he advocated, had become
obnoxious to the court, and was dismissed or
forced to resign, and the seizure of Conde and
Coligny was again resolved on, who were
warned by some of the royal officers to flee for
their lives. Conde and Coligny assembled
forces in September at La Rochelle, a stronghold
of the Huguenots, and were closely
followed by the royal blood-hunters. The
Queen of Navarre and her son. Prince Henry,
being warned by Coligny hastened to join
them, bringing some money, and 3,000 infantry
and 400 cavalry. The royal troops
were kept at haj by the Huguenot generals,
until La Rochelle was safely fortified. Catherine,
finding herself outwitted in the execution
of her diabolical designs, once more resorted to
pacify the Huguenots into submission by publishing
another edict, declaring the willingness
of the government to protect Protestants
in the future, and to redress injustice to them
in the past. But having been so often deceived
by her former edicts, the Huguenots passed
this one unnoticed. That greatly enraged her,
and she at once promulgated other edicts,
which revoked all former ones, and forbade
under penalty of death the exercise of any religion
save the Roman Catholic. The Hugue-