Protestantism in France From Death of Henry IV to the Revolution - James Aitken Wylie

selected. The elders then read several chapters of
the Bible. At this stage the pastor, who had kept his
place of concealment till now, made his
appearance, attended by a body-guard of young
men, who escorted him to and from the place of
meeting, and were prepared to protect his flight
should they be surprised by the soldiers. The
sermon was not to exceed an hour and a quarter in
length. Such were the limits which the Synods of
the Church had fixed, with an obvious regard to the
safety of the worshippers.
The "Church of the Desert" had been some time
in existence before she had the happiness of
enjoying the ministry of her exiled pastors. A few
returned, at the peril of their lives, when they heard
that their scattered flocks had begun to meet
together for the performance of worship. About
1730 a theological academy was established at
Lausanne, in Switzerland, and thence emanated all
the Protestant pastors of France till the reign of
Napoleon. The same forms of worship were
observed in the wilderness as in the city church in
former times. Public prayer formed an important
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