d'Hugon,
Guillaume, and Gontanille.

CHAPTER III

Such crimes, of which we have only described a few, inspired horror
in the breasts of those who were neither maddened by fanaticism nor
devoured by the desire of vengeance. One of these, a Protestant, Baron
d'Aygaliers, without stopping to consider what means he had at his
command or what measures were the best to take to accomplish his object,
resolved to devote his life to the pacification of the Cevennes. The
first thing to be considered was, that if the Camisards were ever
entirely destroyed by means of Catholic troops directed by de Baville,
de Julien, and de Montrevel, the Protestants, and especially the
Protestant nobles who had never borne arms, would be regarded as
cowards, who had been prevented by fear of death or persecution from
openly taking the part of the Huguenots: He was therefore convinced that
the only course to pursue was to get, his co-religionists to put an end
to the struggle themselves, as the one way of pleasing His Majesty and
of showing him how groundless were the suspicions aroused in the minds
of men by the Catholic clergy.

This plan presented, especially to Baron d'Aygaliers, two apparently
insurmountable difficulties, for it could only be carried out by
inducing the king to relax his rigorous measures and by inducing the
Camisards to submit. Now the baron had no connection with the court, and
was not personally acquainted with a single Huguenot chief.

The first thing necessary to enable the baron to begin his efforts was a
passport for Paris, and he felt sure that as he was a Protestant neither
M. de Baville nor M. de Montrevel would give him one. A lucky accident,
however, relieved his embarrassment and strengthened his resolution, for
he thought he saw in this accident the hand of Providence.

Baron d'Aygaliers found one day at the house of a friend a M. de
Paratte, a colonel in the king's army, and who afterwards became
major-general, but who at the time we are speaking of was commandant at
Uzes. He was of a very impulsive disposition, and so zealous in matters
relating to the Catholic religion and in the service of the king, that
he never could find himself in the presence of a Protestant without
expressing his indignation at those who had taken up arms against their
prince, and also those who without taking up arms encouraged the rebels
in their designs. M. d'Aygaliers understood that an allusion was meant
to himself, an