ng at the stake, desired the executioner to
give him a stone; which he refused, thinking that he meant to throw it
at somebody; but Girard assuring him that he had no such design, the
executioner complied; when Girard, looking earnestly at the stone, said,
When it is in the power of a man to eat and digest this solid stone, the
religion for which I am about to suffer shall have an end, and not
before. He then threw the stone on the ground, and submitted cheerfully
to the flames. A great many more of the reformed were oppressed, or put
to death, by various means, till the patience of the Waldenses being
tired out, they flew to arms in their own defence, and formed themselves
into regular bodies.

Exasperated at this, the bishop of Turin procured a number of troops and
sent against them; but in most of the skirmishes and engagements the
Waldenses were successful, which partly arose from their being better
acquainted with the passes of the valleys of Piedmont than their
adversaries, and partly from the desperation with which they fought; for
they well knew, if they were taken, they should not be considered as
prisoners of war, but tortured to death as heretics.

At length, Philip the seventh, duke of Savoy, and supreme lord of
Piedmont, determined to interpose his authority, and stop these bloody
wars, which so greatly disturbed his dominions. He was not willing to
disoblige the pope, or affront the archbishop of Turin; nevertheless, he
sent them both messages, importing, that he could not any longer tamely
see his dominions overrun with troops, who were directed by priests
instead of officers, and commanded by prelates instead of generals; nor
would he suffer his country to be depopulated, while he himself had not
been even consulted upon the occasion.

The priests, finding the resolution of the duke, did all they could to
prejudice his mind against the Waldenses; but the duke told them, that
though he was unacquainted with the religious tenets of these people,
yet he had always found them quiet, faithful, and obedient, and
therefore he determined they should be no longer persecuted.

The priests now had recourse to the most palpable and absurd falsehoods:
they assured the duke that he was mistaken in the Waldenses for they
were a wicked set of people, and highly addicted to intemperance,
uncleanness, blasphemy, adultery, incest, and many other abominable
crimes; and that they were even monsters in nature, for their ch