efore, bade them prepare to die. Hearing this, and
knowing the fatal obstinacy of the Roman catholics, the protestants all
fell prostrate, lifted their hands and hearts to heaven, prayed with
great sincerity and fervency, and then bowing down, put their faces
close to the ground, and patiently waited their fate, which was soon
decided, for the papists fell upon them with unremitting fury, and
having cut them to pieces, left the mangled bodies and limbs in the
cave.

Giovanni Salvagiot, passing by a Roman catholic church, and not taking
off his hat, was followed by some of the congregation, who fell upon and
murdered him; and Jacob Barrel and his wife, having been taken prisoners
by the earl of St. Secondo, one of the duke of Savoy's officers, he
delivered them up to the soldiery, who cut off the woman's breasts, and
the man's nose, and then shot them both through the head.

Anthony Guigo, a protestant, of a wavering disposition, went to Periero,
with an intent to renounce his religion and embrace popery. This design
he communicated to some priests, who highly commended it, and a day was
fixed upon for his public recantation. In the mean time, Anthony grew
fully sensible of his perfidy, and his conscience tormented him so much
night and day, that he determined not to recant, but to make his escape.
This he effected, but being soon missed and pursued, he was taken. The
troops on the way did all they could to bring him back to his design of
recantation; but finding their endeavours ineffectual, they beat him
violently on the road, when coming near a precipice, he took an
opportunity of leaping down it, and was dashed to pieces.

A protestant gentleman, of considerable fortune, at Bobbio, being
nightly provoked by the insolence of a priest, retorted with great
severity; and among other things, said, that the pope was Antichrist,
mass idolatry, purgatory a farce, and absolution a cheat. To be
revenged, the priest hired five desperate ruffians, who, the same
evening, broke into the gentleman's house, and seized upon him in a
violent manner. The gentleman was terribly frightened, fell on his
knees, and implored mercy; but the desperate ruffians despatched him
without the least hesitation.

_A Narrative of the Piedmontese War._

The massacres and murders already mentioned to have been committed in
the valleys of Piedmont, nearly depopulated most of the towns and
villages. One place only had not been assaulted, and that w