me of joy for the Protestants, it was a time of
humiliation for the Catholics. "Certainly," says a contemporary
historian, "it was a very surprising thing, and quite a novelty, to see
in a province like Languedoc, where so many troops were quartered, such
a large number of villains--all murderers, incendiaries, and guilty
of sacrilege--gathered together in one place by permission of those in
command of the troops; tolerated in their eccentricities, fed at the
public expense, flattered by everyone, and courteously, received by
people sent specially to meet them."

One of those who was most indignant at this state of things was M. de
Baville. He was so eager to put an end to it that he went to see
the governor, and told him the scandal was becoming too great in his
opinion: the assemblies ought to be put an end to by allowing the troops
to fall upon them and disperse them; but the governor thought quite
otherwise, and told Baville that to act according to his advice would
be to set fire to the province again and to scatter for ever people whom
they had got together with such difficulty. In any case, he reminded
Baville that what he objected to would be over in a few days. His
opinion was that de Baville might stifle the expression of his
dissatisfaction for a little, to bring about a great good. "More than
that," added the marechal, "the impatience of the priests is most
ridiculous. Besides your remonstrances, of which I hope I have now heard
the last, I have received numberless letters full of such complaints
that it would seem as if the prayers of the Camisards not only grated
on the ears of the clergy but flayed them alive. I should like above
everything to find out the writers of these letters, in order to have
them flogged; but they have taken good care to put no signatures.
I regard it as a very great impertinence for those who caused these
disturbances to grumble and express their disapproval at my efforts to
bring them to an end." After this speech, M, de Baville saw there was
nothing for him to do but to let things take their course.

The course that they took turned Cavalier's head more and more; for
thanks to the injunctions of M. de Villars, all the orders that Cavalier
gave were obeyed as if they had been issued by the governor himself. He
had a court like a prince, lieutenants like a general, and secretaries
like a statesman. It was the duty of one secretary to give leave of
absence to those Camisards who h