war upon God, and not
to persecute Christ in the person of His members; for if He permit this for
a time in order to exercise the patience of His people, He will
nevertheless at last chastise the persecutors by horrible punishments. Let
not your highness be misled by the seducing discourses of the papists, who,
perhaps, will promise you the kingdom of heaven and eternal life, provided
... you exterminate these Huguenots, as they now call good Christians; for
assuredly no one can enter the kingdom of heaven by cruelty, inhumanity,
and calumny." He also points to the folly of persecution by reminding him
that "the ashes of the martyrs are the seed of the Church;" and further,
"that the Christian religion was established by persuasion and not by
violence, ... that it is nothing else than a firm and enlightened
persuasion of God, and of His will, as revealed in His Word and engraven in
the hearts of believers by the Holy Spirit; it cannot when once rooted be
torn away by tortures," &c.

It is probable that the effect of so plain and forcible a remonstrance
helped to protect the Vaudois of Piedmont from the horrible cruelties which
befell their brethren in France during the infamous massacre of St.
Bartholomew. On the 19th of October, 1574, died the good Duchess of Savoy,
Margaret of France, who had been the courageous and faithful friend of her
husband's Protestant subjects. Shortly after her death Castrocaro, like
another zealous persecutor of the Waldenses under La Trinite, Charles
Truchet, perished ignominiously; the former by his own sword, taken from
him by his adversaries; the latter in prison, deserted by those whose
willing tool he had been in deeds of blood! Philibert Emmanuel was
succeeded by his son Charles Emmanuel in 1580. An invasion of the French in
1592 was attempted as the means of prejudicing the new king against his
faithful subjects in the valleys, but happily in vain, and he assured them
of his gracious disposition in an interview at Villaro. However, the
Waldenses were annoyed by the visits of popish missionaries, headed by the
Archbishop of Turin. Unable to succeed in open discussions, the monks had
recourse to bribing persons of bad character. They also laid claim to
tithes, closed the schools, and pursued other forms of oppression. In 1624
they were commanded to destroy the temples in their six communes. And
during these years the inquisition ever and anon laid hold of some fresh
victim for the dung