Читать книгу History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin (Vol. 1-8) - J. H. Merle D'Aubigné - Страница 52

Beautiful it was to see

Such a goodly company;

Monks grey, black, of every hue,

Walking for an hour or two.

The reaction was complete. Learning and the Gospel were forgotten; men thought only of honouring the holy Virgin. The king, the Dukes of Ferrara, Longueville, and Vendôme, and even the King of Navarre, desired to pay the greatest honour to Mary; and accordingly on Thursday the 11th of June, being Corpus Christi Day, a long procession left the palace of the Tournelles.

In the front, with lighted tapers,

There walked a goodly show;

Then followed next the children,

Sweetly singing, in a row.

A crowd of priests came chanting,

And next marched him who bore659 The body of our Jesus ...

The canopy was carried

By the good King of Navarre,

And by Vendôme, and by Longueville,

And the proud Duke of Ferrare.

Then last of all there followed

The king with head all bare;

The taper in his hand was wrapped

In velvet rich and rare.

The different guilds, supreme courts, bishops, ambassadors, high officers of the crown, and princes of the blood, were all present. They walked to the sound of hautboys, clarions, and trumpets, playing with great state. When the procession arrived at the ill-omened spot, the king devoutly went up to it, and fell on his knees and prayed. On rising, he received from the hands of his grand almoner a small silver-gilt statue of the Virgin, which he piously set up in the room of the former one, and placed his taper before the image as a testimony of his faith. All the members of the procession did the same, as they marched past to the sound of the trumpets. The people manifested their joy by acclamations:

Long live the king of fleur-de-lys

And all his noble family!

Erelong the mutilated image, removed to the church of St. Germain, began to work miracles. Four days afterwards, a child having been brought into the world still-born,

The mother writhed and wept,

And bitterly groaned she;

And loudly prayed that death

Would take her suddenly.

She tossed and tumbled so,

That all the gossips there

Shed floods of bitter tears

And wildly tore their hair.

Then one who counselled wisely,

Said: ‘Take the child that’s dead,

And bear him to the Queen of Heaven!’ ...

Which they devoutly did.

The infant changed colour, adds the chronicle; it was baptised, and, after it had returned its soul to God, was buried. The miracle, it is clear, did not last long.

Notwithstanding all these tapers, miracles, and trumpet sounds, the king was still excited. Neither he nor the fanatics were satisfied. The flush which some fancied they saw on the cheeks of the poor little still-born child, was not sufficient; they wanted a deeper red—red blood. Duprat, the Sorbonne, and the parliament said that their master had at last come to his senses, and that they must take advantage of the change. Francis, who held the reins firmly, had hitherto restrained the coursers bound to his chariot. But now, irritated and inflamed, he leant forward, slackened the bit, and even urged them on with his voice. These fiery wild horses were about to trample under foot all who came in their way, and the wheels of his chariot, crushing the unhappy victims, would sprinkle their blood even upon the garments of the prince.

The persecution began.