A FAITHFUL ACCOUNT OF The Renewed Persecution OF THE CHURCHES OF Lower Aquitaine in France.  
In the YEAR 1692.  
To which is prefixed, A Parallel between the Ancient and New Persecutors; or the Portraiture of LEWIS XIV. in some of his Cruelties and Barbarities.  
With some Reflections upon the unreasonable Fondness of a certain Party amongst us, for the French King.  
LONDON: Printed for Richard Baldwin near the Oxford-Arms, in Warwick-Lane. 1692.   

A PARALLEL Between the Ancient and New Persecutors, OR THE Portraiture of LEWIS XIV. In some of his CRUELTIES and BARBARITIES.  

IT was in the heat of the Persecution of the Protestant Churches of France, that I first read Lactantius' Relation of the Death of the Primitive Persecutors. The Cruelties practised in his Age upon the Christians, and revived in ours with so much inhumanity upon our Brethren in France, put me upon the thoughts of making a Parallel between the Ancient Persecutors Lactantius speaks of, and our worse Modern ones under Lewis XIV. And indeed I was the more tempted to it, by the great likeness I found there was between them and the French King's Cruel Instruments; but having read over the ingenious Preface to that Book, written by the now Learned Bishop of Sarum, I then altered my Design, because I thought such a Parallel was sufficiently done already, very concisely in that Preface. And I had continued still in the same mind, but that an Account of the new Barbarities committed in France, upon the Protestants of the Lower Aquitaine, being come to my hand, and being so earnestly solicited to publish it, I think it will not be amiss to prefix to it a much larger Comparison between those Tyrants, that we may see how like the French King is to the Ancient Persecutors, and that he follows their steps not only in the Persecution, but also in all their other Vices, if he does not far exceed them. I have been so much the more induced to this, by the strange proceed of a certain Party amongst us, who yet pretending to be Protestants, are yet nevertheless eager to fall down and Worship the Golden Image of such a Monster as this, and forgetting what they own to their God, to Their Majesties, under whom they lead quiet and peaceable Lives, and to their Country, are fond of having for their King, the Enemy of Mankind, the Invader of the Liberties of Europe, and the greatest Persecutor of the Christian Religion that ever was in the World. I intent in the first place to set the Characters Lactantius gives of the Persecutors of the Primitive Church, with the Method they made use of in their Persecution, and afterwards I'll show that those Characters do perfectly agree with the French King, and that he has taken the very same Measures to destroy the Christian Religion in his Kingdom, as the former took to abolish it in the Roman Empire. But because the World tends always to a greater perfection; I'll show also that this French King has exceeded Maximian, Valerian, and other Persecutors in Barbarity.  
The Characters Lactantius gives of his Persecutors, are these; 1. That they were addicted to the Brutalities of several Pleasures. 2. That they ruined their Subjects by severe Impositions, and heavy Taxes for maintaining vast Armies. 3. That they shown in their Wars some Pusilanimity, or at least more care than was decent for preserving themselves from all danger. 4. That they were so weak as to be fond pleased with the most excessive Flatteries could be made them, and assumed undeservedly the most glorious Titles, even some to Blasphemy itself. 5. That they were profuse in the raising of costly Buildings. 6. That they were successful for many Years together in their undertake. And Lastly, That they had Fearful, Superstitious, and Cruel Tempers. These are the Characters of those Ancient Persecutors: I must observe now what was the pretence of their persecutions, and the method they made use of to compass their horrid design.  
What the pretence of their Persecutions was, we may read in an Edict of Maximian himself quoted by Lactantius and Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History, Lib. 8. Chap. 1. in which 'tis said, That the Christians having forsaken the Religion of their Forefathers, and framed new Laws to govern themselves by, the Emperors thought themselves obliged to Publish their Edicts to force them to return to their first Institutions. The measures they took to compass their Design were these: 1. They pulled down the Christian Churches. 2. They declared the Christians incapable of all Honours, Trusts, or Offices, either Civil or Military. 3. They put them out of the protection of the Law, insomuch that they could not sue for any injuries done them. 4. Afterwards they commanded all the Christians to abjure their Religion. 5. But seeing that they stood firm to their Rules, they practised all the Cruelties imaginable upon them. 6thly. and Lastly. All the Books of the Sacred Scripture, they could find, were burnt by their Orders. Having thus observed the Characters of those Primitive Persecutors; the pretence of their Persecution, and the method they made use of to destroy the Christian Religion, I must give you now a plain Idea of this French King, and show what has been his pretence in Persecuting, with so much Inhumanity, his Protestant Subjects; and what measures he has taken to abolish the Protestant Religion in his Kingdom.  
1. I think it will be very needless to show, how that the French King has delivered himself up to the Brutalities of sensual Pleasures; For who is unacquainted with his many Adulteries? And who has not heard of the famous Ladies, La Valiere, Fontange, and Montespan, and of the many Children he has got by them? But I cannot pass over this Subject without observing, That the Lady Montespan being Married to a Noble French man, and the French King Married too, he has committed the blackest of all Adulteries. I do not read in History, that those Monsters Lactantius speaks of, have been guilty of such a Crime as this: But supposing they had, they were less Criminal than the French King, because they could plead in their defence the examples of their Gods: Whereas Lewis the XIVth. cannot have such an excuse, living under the seeming Profession of a Christian Religion; which though very much corrupted, yet informs him, that Adultery is one of the horridst Crimes in the sight of God; and that it is in express terms forbidden in his Law. I hope this is enough, without being obliged to speak of the Lady Maintenon, some believing that she is really his Wife.  
2. I am next to prove, That the Fremch King has ruined his Subjects by Severe Impositions, and heavy Taxes for maintaining his vast Armies; and this I can make out with as much ease, as I have done his Vices. Though Charles the great was Emperor of Germany, King of Italy, and of France, yet he never maintained in time of Peace near Four hundred thousand men, as this French King has done. Every body knows how vast a charge such an Army must needs be to the French People; for their King having not as yet (as ever I heard of) found the Philosopher's Stone, 'tis their Blood, and the sweat of their Brows, I mean, their Money, that must maintain this prodigious Number of Soldiers, the Tools used for their Slavery, and the unconfined Ambition of their Prince. The bare List of the Taxes imposed upon them by this present King, is enough to make a Volume, therefore I must forbear a particular Relation of them; but to give you a true Idea of the number and heaviness of those Impositions, Let me only observe to you, what was the Annual Revenue of Lewis the XIth. who sufficiently invaded the Liberties of his People; and that of Lewis the XIIIth. and afterwards we shall see what that of the present French King amounts to. The Annual Revenue of Lewis the XIth. was Four millions, and Seven hundred thousand Livers; but that Sum being found too heavy upon the Nation, in his Son King Charles the VIIIth. his Reign, his Revenue at the desire of the States of Parliament Assembled at Tours, was reduced to Two millions, five hundred thousand Livers. But since that time the Revenues of the Kings of France have prodigiously increased, as those Prince's insatiable thirst after the Slavery of their People, insomuch that the late King Lewis the XIIIth. his Revenue amounted to Five and fifty millions of Livers. But that Sum being then thought, with a great deal of Reason, to be highly exorbitant, the French Nation complained very much of the hard usage they received from their King: But what would they give now to have such a one, since even his Exorbitance was tolerable, nay, easy and gentle, in comparison with that of their present Oppressor? For as the world is said to refine every day upon us, and much to exceed the Ancient; so this French King, finding such a Sum too little for his vast Projects and Designs, hath, through a most transcendent refinedness in Politics, contrived a thousand ways to drain his People's Purses, and hath attained to such a singular and masterly perfection in this Art, that now his Annual Revenue, according to the state of the Royal Treasures, Amounts to near a Hundred and fifty millions. And if we take into consideration this prodigious Sum, together with what comes to the Clergy, we shall not be surprised at the miserable condition of the French Nation (especially in this time of War) for want of Trade.  
3. I hope the French King is very like to the Persecutors of Lactantius, as to the two preceding Characters. Let us see now if he comes short of them in the Third, viz. In want of Courage, or at least in showing more care than is decent to preserve himself from all danger. I must confess, the Parallel is not very exact in this particular, for this French King goes beyond them all in Baseness, and downright Cowardice. I read in the Roman History, that Dioclesian, though Vicious, and a Persecutor, shown nevertheless some Courage in a Battle against Carinus his Competitor; and in reducing Aquileus one of his Generals, who had caused himself to be Proclaimed Emperor in in Egypt. That Maximian, surnamed the Herculean, has been present in several Battles and Rencounters; and that Galerius Maximian routed Narseus' King of the Persians in a Bloody Battle in Armenia. And yet notwithstanding those Actions, if they have been taxed with Baseness and Pusillanimity by Lactantius, and other Writers, What must we say of the French King? He that never had the Courage to Command his Army in a day of Battle, and who has never Besieged any Town, till after he had made the Bargain sure for it.  
4. I have said, That the Primitive Persecutors were so weak, as to be fond pleased with the most excessive flatteries could be made them, and assumed undeservedly the most Glorious Titles, even some to Blasphemy itself. And I am to prove in this place, that the French King will by no means be inferior to them in this point, no more than in the former. He has assumed the Title of Great, which never man before him did in his own life time; he has taken the Sun for his Emblem, with this proud Motto, nec pluribus impar, to signify that he is the Phaeniz of the world, and truly he is in the right on't, not however in his opinion, but only in mine: For I steadfastly believe there is not a man in the world that can equal him in so many bad qualities. He has suffered his Statue to be set up in public Places, and to be harangued by Academies, and Corpse de ville, which is their Common Council, and to be represented as Lording it over the Earth and the Sea. But the most Blasphemous of all, is that of the place called des Victoirs, where one may see him crowned by Victory, trampling Heresy under his feet, and the Four Parts of the Earth represented by Four Slaves, chained to the Pedastal, with this impious Motto, VIRO IMMORTALI, the Immortal Man. This has been thought so Blasphemous, even to Father Menestrier, though a most egregious Flatterer himself, that in his History of this French King by the Medals, he has been ashamed to relate this Motto in the description he gives of that place. I could quote a Thousand other instances of this nature, but I must forbear, for fear of being too tedious: However, I hope the Reader will not take it amiss if I show him how Monsieur Pelisson (one of the Academy of Paris) speaks of his Master in a Panegyric pronounced by him, and which is Printed in the last Edition of the Transactions of that Academy. Antiquity, says he, had a great and noble reward in store for Heroes, viz. their Apotheosis, or Translation of them into the number of the Gods. At the Funeral of one of the greatest of their Emperors, there was one of the Patrician Family, who Swore, That he saw the Emperor's Soul fly up to Heaven in a most splendid Triumph. The same Ancients imagined, That the Souls or Genii of these Heroes did oversee and influence the great Actions here below, and were of the swiftest agility in going about this their charge: But sure I am, if ever any Prince deserved such an Apotheosis, or Translation into the Number of the Gods, our Invincible and August Monarch merits it in a transcendent degree; all his actions are Godlike, and his influence on the whole Affairs of Europe are so universal, that he seems to participate of the Nature and Power of that Universal Intelligence that rules all sublunary things: Such expressions are certainly impious, but yet they are very modest in comparison of these which follow a little after in the same Panegyric. If these Pagans, who fond would have sacrificed to the Two Apostles, and said of them, the Gods are come down among us, had been the eye witnesses of the mighty Actions of Lewis le Grand, which contain so many Lineaments of a Deity, they would have had more reason to have erected Altars to this Divinity of France, than to all those of Antiquity. If this be not Blasphemy, I am then to learn where it may be found, or what it is that we call Impiety: And sure I am, that Diocletian himself was not so guilty in assuming the Title of God; since he had the examples of Caligula and Domitian, to justify him in that shameful piece of vanity, by the like in those his Two Predecessors: 'Tis said also of that Heathen Prince, that to appear more like God to the People, he was wont to wear a Suit set thick with Precious Stones; And has not this vanity too been imitated by the present French King when he gave Audience to the Ambassadors of Siam?  
5. Lactantius says, That the Primitive Persecutors were profuse in the raising of costly Buildings, and so is this French King. That ingenious Writer observeth, That Diocletian laid many Taxes on several Provinces, to build in Nicomedia fine Palaces for himself, for his Wife, and for his Daughters, and an Hippodrome, an Arsenal, and a Mint-house: But what were those Buildings in comparison with those of this French King, if we consider that the very Led alone employed at Versailles, cost near 
* Above Two Millions Sterling.  Thirty Millions? He observeth also, That no sooner were those Buildings finished, but he found some fault or other in them, and then he caused them to be all pulled down again, to rebuild after another manner, according to a new Caprice that came in his head, though even then they were not secured from other Alterations. And is not this a lively Picture of the madness of this French King? Have not the Lovure, Versailles and Triennon, been built and pulled down, and afterwards rebuilt, and then leveled with the ground several times over? So like is Lewis the XIVth. to that Ancient Persecutor. I have done with this Subject when I have related a passage which proveth how profuse the French King hath been for the beautifying his Palaces. The proposal made to him for this Machine which draws the Water from the River Seine near Marly, to the Water-spouts of Versailles; was looked upon at first as that made formerly to Alexander about Mount Athos, not however so much for the difficulty of that Machine, as for the prodigious Sums of Money which were demanded to bring it to its perfection; and thereupon his Wise Councillors endeavoured to dissuade him from so costly a design; but he asked them, Whether they believed the thing was possible? And upon their Answering, That they thought it might be so in itself, but not in the circumstances his Exchequer was in; Well then, said the King, since that Machine is possible, I will have it, and it shall be done, if there be any Money in France. 
* It cost at first above 6000 l. and since above 15000. every Year.   
6. Lactantius observeth, That the Primitive Persecutors were successful for many Years together, but their end was deplorable: Upon which, though I do not pretend to determine what will be the End of this French King, yet I say, he is so like those Ancient Monsters, as well in his Successes, as in all the other preceding Characters, that it will not be so impertinent as it may seem at first, to believe that the Exit of his Impious Life may be in a very Tragical manner, as well as theirs were, who were the Primitive Persecutors. That he has been succeseful for these many Years, I think no body can deny; and if we but cast our eyes upon his prodigious Conquests, we must confess, that considering the circumstances of the present times, they are more considerable, than those of the Persecutors we speak of: All things have smiled upon him near these Thirty years last, and 'tis upon that account his Flatterers have said, that he is the Sovereign disposer of the Fate of the World.  
7. I come now to the last Character Lactantius gives of his Persecutors, viz. That they had Fearful, Superstitious, and Cruel Tempers; and I am to show that this French King is of the like Complexion too: But having already proved that he wants Courage, I have at the same time shown how Fearful his Temper was, and how little he deserved the Title of a Warlike Prince. As to his Superstition, I hope I need not to say any thing upon that Topick, for who is ignorant of it? Truly he must be Superstitious to the last degree, and wholly unacquainted with God's Mercy, who believes or hopes to obtain the forgiveness of his many repeated Adulteries, and other Sins, by committing new Crimes under the false pretences of Converting Heretics. Though Nero, Domitian, and Maximian have been so Cruel, that it seems their Successors must yield to them in Inhumanity; yet here is a new Competiter who is like to win the prize from them all: This Rival is Lewis the XIVth. for if we compare his Cruelties (without exagerating the matter in the least) with those of the Primitive Persecutors, we shall find that he is far superior to them. I must set aside at present the Cruelties practised under pretence of Religion, to consider of those committed upon other accounts. Indeed I read in History, That those execrable Monsters put to Death a great many of their Subjects upon frivolous pretences, and that one of them had a mind to set Rome on Fire; but I do not find any Tracts of their Inhumanity so frightful as the Rubbish and Ashes of Frankendal, Manh●i●, Spire, and Worms. But perhaps it will be objected, That this is not a good proof of this French King's Cruelties, for those Places belonging to his Enemies, the Military Law allows such severe Treatment. To this I Answer, That the Military Law allows no such Actions among Christians, nor has it ever been allowed to destroy a Country by Fire and Sword in that Inhuman manner this French King has destroyed the Palatinate; where so many People of all Ages and conditions have been Murdered; where so many Towns have been Plundered and Burnt, notwithstanding the Words and Assurances given them by the Dolphin himself at their Capitulations; and where so many fine Churches and Religious Houses, as well as the Prince's Palaces have been destroyed, and leveled with the ground, and all this almost without any Declaration of War.   

What I have said is sufficient, I hope, to make a true Parallel between the Persecutors of the Primitive Church, and one of this Age, and to convince all the world, that there is an extreme likeness betwixt them. I shall therefore now proceed to inquire, into what have been the French King's pretences to this Bloody Persecution of the Protestants of his own Country. I have already observed in the beginning of this Parallel, That the first Christians were Persecuted under pretence that they had forsaken the Religion of their forefathers, and framed new Assemblies, and new Laws; whereby the Emperors had been forced to publish their Edicts, to oblige them to return to their first Institutions: And I must desire you to observe here, That 'tis upon the very same account that the French Hugonots have been so Cruelly Persecuted in our Days. Are we not accused for having forsaken the Religion of our forefathers, and to have rejected the precepts of our dear Mother the Church? Are we not charged with having framed new Laws, and new Assemblies to govern ourselves by, and to break the Union of the Church? And is it not upon this account that the Tyrant of France has Published likewise his Edicts to oblige the Protestants of his Kingdom, to return to their first Institutions; that is to say, to the Profession of the Roman Catholic Religion, from which he supposed they were wilfully, and without any ground, separated? But let us hear what the French King says himself in the Preface of that famous Edict given in October 1685. to repeal that of Nants. He says, That Henry the iv his Grandfather had no other design in putting forth the Edict, called the Nantes, than to lessen the Aversion which was between the Protestants and the Catholics, to be thereby enabled to effect more successfully the Reunion of the said Protestants to the Church of Rome, from which they had departed upon such slight pretences. That his Father Lewis XIII. had the same design, and that he himself since his coming to the Throne, had endeavoured the same thing, but with that good effect, that the greatest and the most considerable part of his Subjects were dutifully returned to the Profession of the Religion of their Forefathers. Having thus observed that the Characters of the Ancient Persecutors, and that of the Modern, are so like; and that the pretence of their Persecution is the same; I intent to consider in this place the Method the French King has taken to compass his design, that we may see if the Parallel between them is exact in all its parts.  
1. We have seen in the first place, that the Persecutors began their Persecution against the Christians by pulling down their Churches; and here we must again observe, that this French King began to persecute the Hugonots by the very same method. 'Tis true it was not with such Rage as the Heathens showed on this occasion; it was with some colourable appearance of Justice, which was still worse than an open Violence, because the Protestants were obliged to be at vast Charges to make good their Titles, and yet for all that they were afterwards Condemned, and 'tis no wonder indeed, since their Enemies were their Judges. In fine then, the most part of the Protestant Churches were pulled down under a frivolous pretence, viz. That they were established against the Disposition of the Edicts, or because some Mahometans had been present in the Assemblies, which was prohibited by an Edict given in 1680.  
2. The Christians were declared during the Primitive Persecutions, incapable of all Honours, and Public Trusts, and Offices, as well Civil as Military; and the French Protestants have been treated with the same Inhumanity by their Prince, which I am now to prove. Les Chambres de l'Edict, which were Sovereign Courts, composed of an equal number of Protestants, and Romanists, and to which the Causes of the Protestants were referred, were suppressed, and afterwards all the Inferior Judges of the Kingdom. In a word, all Civil Officers and Magistrates, that were Protestants, were turned by force out of their Employments. The Military Officers were not, I confess, used with so much severity, for there was no Declaration come forth against them; but however they were obliged to leave their Service, because they could not hope to come to any great Preferment; the Office of a Captain being their greatest reward, notwithstanding their long, faithful, continued Services. To all those Vexations, they added another no less cruel and unjust, the Protestants were forbidden in several Parts of the Kingdom to Exercise any Trade or Art, in order to take away from them all means of getting their Livelihood, and induce them to turn Papists. The King himself by a Declaration in 1680, prohibited all the Protestants to practise the Art of Midwifery. What can be imagined more unjust and cruel than the Persecurion of France? What, I say, more cruel and unjust can be imagined, than to deprive so many Magistrates of their Offices? What more cruel than to prohibit Protestants the Exercise of the Natural Gifts God had endowed them with to get their Livelihood? And what more unjust and opposite to the Christian Charity, than to throw so many Men into the lowest Poverty, and force them to beg their Bread? And all this against the express terms of the Edict of Nantes, where one may read the following words in the 27th Article, We declare the Protestants capable of all Employments, Dignities, Offices, and Charges, whatever they be, etc. and against the very Oath and Promise given by this French King.  
3. Lactantius has observed, That the Christians were put out of the Protection of the Laws, that they might not sue for Wrongs and Injuries done to them; and have not the Protestant, in France received the like Treatment from their King; their Judges and Magistrates being forced out of their places? So that they seldom obtained Justice; and the strongest Argument their Parties used against them, was, That they were Hugonots, which was sufficient to make them lose their Cause.  
4. After all these Vexations and Persecutions, which acquired them but very few Proselytes; the Persecutors began at last to take off their Mask, and the Intendants of the Provinces at the head of the Booted Missionaries, required in the King's Name, all the Protestants to abjure their Religion, as the old Persecutor, commanded all the Christians to return to their Ancient Institution. I will not trouble my Reader with a thousand instances of this nature, which I could give, but I cannot forbear mentioning what happened at Bergerac in Perigord, where I was by chance at that very time. 'Tis a pretty considerable Town, situated upon the River Dordoigne, and the most part of its Inhabitants were Protestants; they had suffered in 1682, a great Persecution, and with so much Courage and steady Resolution, that only two Hugonots, as I was informed, did forsake their Religion; and that Church was looked upon by the Persecutors, as a nest of Heretics, and which was likely to make the greatest Resistance, therefore they designed to attack it in an extraordinary manner. The Marquis de Boufflers, Commander in chief of the French Kings Forces in Aquitaine, went with the Intendant, and two Bishops, at the head of five or six thousand Men; they set out Guards round about the Town, and in the Streets, and no body was suffered to come out; and aftewards they called together the inhabitants into the Townhouse, where the Intendant made them a fine Speech. Because the thing seemed to me very extraordinary, I went in among the Crowd, and I heard the Intendant tell them among other things, That the King his Master being persuaded of their obstinacy in continuing their Separation from the Church without any grounds, he was resolved out of his Royal Mercy to reconcile them to her Holy Communion; and that therefore they must either voluntarily renounce their Heresy, or they should be compelled to do it according to the precept of the Gospel. One may easily guests what a cruel Stab these words were to the hearts of these poor Inhabitants; and yet with a noble Bravery they returned him this Answer, That their Estates and Lives being in the power of the King, they were resolved to undergo all manner of hardships as to them; but God alone being the Master of their Consciences, they would rather suffer a thousand Deaths, than renounce his true Religion which they professed.  
5. I have observed how the Primitive Persecutors, seeing that notwithstanding all their Persecutions, the Christians still stood firm to their Rules, practised more and more upon them all manner of Cruelties; and Lactantius gives this following Description of the horrid Punishments they condemned many Christians to. They were, says he, first chained to a Post, then there was a gentle Fire set under the Soles of their Feet, by which all the Callus of the Foot was shrivelled up, till at last it fell off from the Bones; then Flambeaux were lighted and put out, and while they were not, clapped to all the parts of their Bodies, that so they might be tortured all over; and care was taken to keep them alive as long as was possible, by throwing cold Water on their Faces, and every now and then giving them somewhat to cool and refresh their Mouths, lest otherwise the Violence of the Misery they suffered, should quite dry up their Throats, and so choke them. Thus their Sufferings were lengthened out whole days, till at last their Skin being quite consumed by the Fire, it reached their Vitals, and then a great Fire was kindled, into which they were thrown, and so their Bodies were burnt to Ashes, and their Bones that were not wholly destroyed, were gathered and grounded to Powder, and then thrown into some River, or else into the Sea. Truly the lively Picture of this horrid Torment is very dismal and hideous. And were I as Eloquent as Lactantius, or at least, capable of putting what Monsieur Claude hath said of the Sufferings of the French Protestants into a graceful Turn in English. I would undertake to make as frightful a Portraiture as this of that famous Writer.  
The Infernal Missionnaries set on foot, says he, to convert the French Protestants did with a thousand Blasphemies, and execrable Oaths, hang up Men and Women by their Hairs of their Head, or downwards by their Feet in the smoke of wet Hay, where they were almost choked to Death; and when they had taken them down, and let them come a little to themselves, if they would not then turn Papists, they hung them up again.  
They pinched their Beards off, and their Hairs of their Heads, till they had made an absolute Depilation.  
They threw them into great Fires, and when they were half roasted, took them up again, and tying them under the Armpits, dipped them in cold Water again and again, till they had made them promise to renounce their Heresy. They tied up some others (like Criminals, who were to suffer the Rack) and then with a Funnel poured strong Wines down their Throats, till its Vapours getting up into their heads had almost drowned their Reason, and then they asked them to be reconciled to the Church. They stripped them stark naked, and after a thousand horrid Indignities, they stuck all their Bodies with Pins. They mangled others in a most strange manner with Pen-knives; and their Inhumanity went so far, as to take them by the Nose with hot Tongues, till they forced them to a compliance. They struck others with Sticks, and when they were almost dead, carried them into the Churches, where their bare Presence was taken for a formal Abjuration. They kept them from sleeping for seven or eight days together, either by throwing fresh Water on their Faces, or by making a horrid Noise with Drums or Kettles. If they could find any Sick, they caused the Drums to be beat round their Beds, and so obliged those miserable Creatures to renounce their Religion. Sometimes they tied Parents and Husbands to Bedposts, and then would attempt to Ravish their Daughters, and their Wives, before their faces. They pulled their Nails off their hands and Feet, which is the most acute and sensible Pain imaginable; and if any of them died, they were drawn to the common Lay-stalls, and there eaten up by Dogs, and other Beasts.  
I should never have done, if I were to give in Retail an Account of all the Barbarities committed on the French Protestants; therefore I will content myself with these particulars, which I hope are sufficient to prove, that I could make as ghastly a Picture of the Persecution of our Age, as Lactantius has done of that of the Primitive Christians. But if this be not enough, I refer my Reader to a Book, called, The Complaints of the persecuted Protestants in France, at which the French King was so offended, that at the desire of his Minister here at our Court, it was publicly burnt in the late King's time.  
6. To make an exact Parallel between the Modern and Ancient Persecutors, it remains only to inquire further, whether the Books of the Holy Scripture have not been burnt by the French King's orders, as well as by Maximians: But this I think will be out of question, since we have here so many thousand Witnesses, who can all attest the truth of that horrid Impiety; for though I have seen it with my own Eyes, yet I do not desire to be believed upon my single Word or Testimony.  
I have sufficiently made out the Parallel I promised between the French King, and the Persecutors of the Primitive Church. I have showed that they were alike in their Tempers, and in their Actions; that the pretences of their Persecution have been the same, and that they have made use of the like Methods to compass their design. I must nevertheless observe, that those Ancient Monsters cannot pretend to come up to the late heights of Cruelty, but must yield therein to the French King; they persecuted the Christians, because they denied their Gods to be Gods, and maintained that some of them had never been, and that the others were vicious Men, and dead long ago: We know, says Tertullian to them, where some of your Gods are buried. Besides, they were not prohibited by the Laws of their Gods to be cruel towards the Christians; but on the contrary, Lactantius observeth, That Apollo being consulted by Dioclesian, advised him to persecute them with the last Severity, which maketh their Persecution a little excusable: But what can excuse the French King's Cruelty? Do the Protestants deny the God the Papists worship, I mean the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, to be the true God? If they say with them, That the Son is dead for our Sins; do not they say also, That he risen again from the dead? Had the French King been so canticus as Dioclesian, that is, had he consulted the holy Word of his God, he would have seen how contrary the Meekness and Charity of that, is to his Cruelty and Persuecution. And I dare say, that if he had consulted Innocent the XI. who was to have been his God upon Earth; I doubt very much, whether he would have advised him to be so barbarous towards his own Subjects. I'll add but a Reflection about the Books of the Holy Scripture which have been burnt by the Ancient and Modern Persecutorss; and I say, that the Maximians, the Dioclesian's, &c. looking upon those Books as Impious and Blasphemous against their Gods, they were less criminal in condemning them to the fire, than the French King, who, if he be a Christian, cannot look upon the Protestant Bibles without some Respect and Reverence, being the Law, and the Will of his God, notwithstanding the few in considerable Alterations they pretend we have made in our Translation.  
The Persecution of the French Protestants having been so viole●t as we have seen, according to this Vulgar Axiom, Nihil violentum est diuturnum; it should not have lasted a very long time, and yet it hath continued some five and twenty years, or more, (but especially since the late King Charles' Death) without abating any thing of its Rigour and Cruelty. It was thought also, that the French King being so taken up in defending himself against so many Enemies, might have cooled his Anger for a while; but we were mightily mistaken, for he every day increases his Rage and Fury against them, because he looks upon them as his nearest, and so worst Enemies, believing that after the many Persecutions and Hardships he hath made them suffer, they would soon join with the English in case of any Descent. Every new year affords new Barbarities, and especially this; for the Protestants have been dealt with more severely in all parts of France this last, than they had been the three or four years before. It seems however that the Lower Aquitaine has been the Scene of their greatest Inhumanities'; and a true Relation thereof being come into my hands, I am desired to publish it, and as willing to gratisy so reasonable a Request. The Account is as follows.   

A Faithful Account of the Renewed Persecution of the Protestants in Lower Aquitaine: Collected out of several Letters, written by known Persons from that Province; and taken from the Deposition made by a Gentleman newly arrived from those Parts, who for his Religion sake has had his House pulled down, and razed to the Ground, and himself hung up in Effigy.  
SAintefoy and Gensac are Two Towns situated upon the River Dordoigne, and Duras upon the little River Drot. This last is not so considerable as the other Two, for the Number of the Inhabitants, but it is no less in all other points, being a Duchy, and the principal seat of the Duke of Duras, Brother to the Earl of Feversham. Saintefoy had, before the repealing of the Edict of Nants, a Church of about Three thousand Communicants, Gensac Two thousand, and Duras only but Five hundred, but these were the most considerable of the Town. Those Churches, with the others, fell under the Merciless violence of the Dragoons; and for three or four Years together, shown a very weak fearfulness; but since that time, it hath pleased God, they have recovered their Spirits, as many others have done in that Province, and have denied going to Mass. Being however unsatisfied in their Consciences, and weary of being longer withhold from their spiritual Devotions of praying to God together, they made the last Year several Assemblies in some private Houses; where they performed all the exercises of their Religion, with one of those courageous Ministers that were sent thither to Preach under the Cross. And they continued their Meetings for some time, but in a very peaceful way, and with a mind as far from all sedition, as the Witnesses against them have since testified and declared; though after this discovery they have been dealt with as Criminals of State. The Assembly of Duras was the first discovered; whereupon Mr. ‛ Duquesne Lieutenant Criminal of N●●as was sent thither by the Intendant of the Province. Many Informations were brought in before that Magistrate, and Warrants Issued out against the most considerable Inhabitants; who wisely foreseeing what was like then to besal them, endeavoured to make their escape: Three men however were unhappily taken, viz. Messieurs Constans, Bescete, and la Roche, who was formerly the Reader and Schoolmaster of the said Church, with Three Gentlewomen, viz. Mrs. Elizabeth and Mary Gentillot, Sisters, and one Mrs. Barbote.  
These Six Prisoners were brought into the Prison of the Townhouse of Bourdeaux, and thence into the Gaol of the Parliament; where that la Roche, being a fearful man in his Temper, was easily frighted by the Judges, insomuch, that under promise of Pardon, he was prevailed with to discover all those who had been in those Meetings: Whereupon so many Warrants were issued out, that the Town of Duras was almost become a Desert by the flight of the Protestants who were to be seized. The Intendant, with the Seneschal of Aquitaine, Condemned the said Constans and Bescete to the Galleys; the first for his Life, and the last for Five Years only: But before both of them were to make, as they call it, L'amende honnorable; the Three Women were Condemned to this last Punishment, To be shaved by the Hangman, and afterwards shut up for their Lives in the Manufacture, which is a kind of Bridewell. Messieurs Constans, and Bescete, made their Honourable Amend at Bordeance; but because this Punishment is unknown here in England, I think it not amiss to relate the manner of it. These poor Gentlemen bore headed and bore feeted, and almost Naked, having but a course linen Shirt upon their back, having besides a Halter on their necks, a burning Torch in their hands, the Hangman at their heels, were lead in that Garb from the Jail of the Palace through the streets as far as the Square of St. Andrews Church, which is as far, as from Charing-Cross to Ludgate; the Hangman telling them, that he was to Hang them at his return. Notwithstanding these hard usages, and the rigours of the Season; they shown nevertheless an humble, modest, and cheerful Constancy and Patience; which made so great an impression upon the very Enemies of their Religion, that they could not for bear their Tears, and some of them said, they are called to Glorify God by their Martyrdom. Mr. Constans seemed still more firm than his Fellow-sufferer; for being asked by the Judges, Whether he had not been in those unlawful Assemblies? He did not deny it, but answered undauntedly, That he had been there many times, and that he would go again if he could, which was the occasion of one increasing of his Punishment. I have said, that the Judges had promised la Roche his pardon, and therefore he was dismissed.  
A little while after the taking of these Prisoners at Duras, several Persons of Saintefoy and Gensac were seized for the same account, and the 21st. of February last they were removed from the Prisons of those places into the Jail at Bourdeaux. Amongst them were Monsieur Pages de Margueyron, and his Lady. He was a Gentleman very Judicious, Pious, and Charitable, mightily beloved by the People, and by the Persons of Quality with whom he lived very honourably; he had but one Son, who being escaped from the Dragoons, was killed in Ireland in Their Majesty's Service, being an Officer in one of the French Regiments of Foot, Commanded by Brigadeer la Meloniere. His Lady had a great deal of Wit, Piety, Zeal, and Charity, and they were a mutual comfort one to the other, as long as they were together in the same Prison; but though they were separated about the time of their Jugment, that sad affliction did not lessen their Constancy. Nothing was forgotten to shake them, and they were tried both with promises and threaten, but always in main. This obliged their Persecutors to fall upon other methods, and knowing how dear Monsieur Margueyron was to his Wife, they endeavoured to abuse her tenderness to win him. Therefore they promised her the life of her Husband, if she would solli●it● him to renounce his Religion; but instead of doing it, she sent a Friend to animate him to stand out firm, and not to belly the Character of a Christian; adding withal, that she should certainly die with Grief, if he had any weakness. A Roman Catholic, her Friend, being present, did blame her for so desperately advising her H●●●●nd; but she answered him That she would rather see her Husband (though very dear to her) burning in a fire, than hear that he had been so weak, as to change his Religion. As soon as her Husband was condemned, she was told of it, and that he likewise had notice to prepare for it; thereupon she inquired only, how he had received that advice; and hearing that it was with a great deal of Courage, and with an undaunted sirmness, she shown an extreme Joy, and falling on her Knees, returned her thanks to the Almighty, beseeching him with a Christian fervency, to inflame more and more his Resignation and Courage to the very end of his Life. She declared besides. That her Tears did not proceed from any natural Weakness, 〈◊〉 only from a deep Sorrow, that God had not thought her worthy to suffer for his Glory unto Blood, and to be the Fellow sufferer of her Husband, that she would have lodged on it as a great happiness to her, had we been to die with him, for the Glory of him who had given his Life for their Salvation; that nevertheless she was satisfied to giveth the Saviour of her Soul the Life of the Husband he ha● given her for the comfort of her own; knowing that if they were separated for a while, they should be rejoined for ever in the fellowship of the Glory, where they should neither have Enemies to four, nor Tribulation to undergo.  
The Husband on his side s●ewed the Constancy and the Resignation of a Martyr, and answered stoutly, That with God's Grace he 〈◊〉 to fight, and to stand 〈…〉.  
The Judges were not a little perplexed at this Gentleman's Trial, because they were told, that he was not to die, the King's Declaration condemning to death only those that were taken in the Fact, that is, in the Assemblies, and not those who, as Monsieur Margueyron, were indicted for having been there. The matter was plain, and the Judges had nothing to say against it, but on the contrary they confessed, That according to the Written-law be was not to die; but that according to the Oral Order they had received thereupon, and which was stronger than the Law itself, he ought to suffer death. Truly the Judges were in the right, to speak of that Oral Order, for we are certainly informed, that he was condemned by an express Order of the King's Council.  
The very morning he was removed from Bourdeaux to Saintefoy, the place of his Execution, all devout Persons gave him a visit in the Prison, and we are told, that many Letters could hardly contain the good things he told them, as to the Profession of the Christian Religion, and as to his Resignation to the Will of God. They were so much affected with his admirable Discourses, and so passionately moved by his smiling Countenance, that none could speak a word to comfort or encourage him; but truly he had no need of it, having had the Holy Ghost for his Comforter to his end. When he was brought out of the Prison of Bourdeaux, there was above two thousand Persons about him, some weeping, some admiring his firm and cheerful Countenance, and some others saying, See how he out-braves the King with his smiling Face. A Priest observing his placid looks under the heaviness of his Chains, could not forbear his Tears, nor saying to those that were about him, The Hugonots can boast that they have a Martyr in him. And indeed, had not that Gentleman and his Lady shown such Constancy and Patience, they would have degenerated from the Piety of their Ancestors, who have been always zealous● for their Religion, and of whom two have suffered Martyrdom formerly, as may be seen in the French Martyrology.  
That Glorious Confessor going out of his Prison, gave his Blessing to all he met in his way, saying to those he saw compassionately weeping for his Sufferings, Don't weep for me, but Weep for yourselves, and take care to live better hereafter, than you have done hitherto; adding, That his life was not at all dear to him, provided he could run out his Race with Joy, as he hoped he should do. Tho his Chains were exceeding heavy, yet one might see in his face a pleasant cheerfulness, like that we may observe in other men when they are advanced to some high and noble Dignity. The Three Gentlewomen of Duras, we before spoke of, who were Condemned to make their Honourable Amand in their own Town, and in the sight of their Relations; (that so their Punishment might appear the more infamous) were brought out of Jail, at the same time with Monsieur Margueyron, being fastened one to another, and sent along with him to Saintefoy, attended by several Bailiffs, and the Hangman: Their design in this was to frighten those Gallant and Christian Souls from their first Constancy, by making them spectators of the Death and Sufferings of that Gracious Martyr; but God be praised, they were rather the more strengthened by what those Miscreants thought would be so frightful a spectacle to them, than any ways terrified, as we shall see in the sequel of this Relation.  
Several Persons went from Bourdeaux to Saintefoy, to be witnesses of the undaunted Courage and Constancy of our n●w-going to be glorysied Saint, and to strengthen themselves by his holy Exhortations, as well as by his Example. About an hour before his Death, he sent for his Daughters and near Relations, and acquainted them with several things they knew not of; he commanded them above all things, to bestow as much of his Estate as they could to the Poor; he exhorted them to stand in the profession of the Truth, for which he was joyfully going to resign his life; and afterwards he desired an acquaintance of his to let his Informer know, that he did hearty forgive him, and would die his Friend. He was Executed at Saintefoy in the public place, on Saturday the 26th. of April last, New-stile. Though it was the Market-day, the Shops and the Windows were shut up, and there was no body to be seen in the Streets but a crowd of poor sorrowful People, saying, What shall we do? What will become of us? We lose in this Great Good man our Protector and Father. The Gallows was encompassed round with a Troop of Horse, and a Company of Foot, yet even those could not hinder a crowd of Poor people getting near it, (and amongst them two Gentltmen of Bourdeaux in disguise) on purpose to hear the last dying Speech of our Martyr, who was brought thither with the three  Gentlewomen; and no sooner was he got upon the Ladder, than he said, This is Jacob's ladder, by which I am ascending to Heaven. He had a mind to make a Speech to the People, but no sooner did he begin to open his Mouth, but the Trumpets and Drums began to sound, that his words might not be heard: Thereupen he desired a short cessation, wherein to make his Prayers to God, but was allowed none, but was immediately turned off the Ladder, pronouncing these words of the Royal Psalmist, Into thine hands I commit my spirit; for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth, Psal. 31. v. 5. His Body was left upon the Gallows till the Sunday following at Night, and then at the request of the Inhabitants, delivered to one of his Farmers, who Buried it in a private place. The same day he was Executed, his house was Leveled to the ground, and the materials of it given to the Priest of the Parish to enlarge his Church with, and his several Estates have been seized for the paying of 6000. Livers, to which the charges or Penalties of his Trial amounted. Thus died that Brave and Religious Martyr, without showing any weakness, or so much as Anger at his Persecutors; but on the contrary, such a meekness and unshaken constancy, that the Papists themselves were heard to say, That if any man of their Religion had led so Pious a life, as Monsieur Margueyron had done, and had died in so Christian a manner, he would be infallibly Canonised.  
When the sad News of his death was brought to his Wife, she shown somewhat more than a manly Courage, it being without any sign at all of Human weakness. She immediately returned her devout Thanks to God, for the great steadiness of Resolution he had given to her Husband, and said to those about her, He is now very happy, for he resteth from his Labours. She was Condemned likewise to assist at her Husband's Execution, to be shaved by the Hangman, and afterwards confined for her life in the Manufacture of Bourdeaux; but either they thought it would be too Cruel in them to let her see the Tragical end of her Husband, or rather they seared by her Bravery of Soul she would encourage him the more, and too much work upon the People's affections; they left her in the Prison of Bourdeaux till the Execution of her Husband was over.  
The three Gentlewomen that came along with him, having seen Monsieur Margueyron's Death without being in the least shaken, contrary to their Persecutor's expectation, were brought from Saintefoy to Duras, where they made their Honourable Amand on the 28th. of the said Month of April, being the Market-day at that place: They had never appeared in their lives so cheerful, nor had their faces ever been so charming, as they seemed then in that frightful Garb; the moanful beams of the burning Torch they carried in their hands, did as it were increase the natural brightness of their Eyes; and the wretched Halter they had on their necks, was a much more fine and glorious sight, than a Pearl or Diamond Necklace. We have told you in the beginning of this Relation, that several Persons of Duras who had been Indicted, had made their Escapes; they were Summoned, but not having appeared, they were Condemned by Out-lawry to be Hanged, and to be Hanged immediately in Effigy, till they could be found; insomuch, that on that very day those Gentlewomen Glorified God by their Sufferings at Duras, Four Gentlemen and a Gentlewoman were Hanged up in Effigy, viz. Monsieur Fontanote and his Wife, Monsieur Peynau, Advocate in the Court of Parliament, Monsieur Micheau a Merchant, and Monsieur de Peyferier Gentleman, who is newly arrived here in England, and from whom we have some particulars of this Relation; and the same day also his house, in which they used to have their Religious Assemblies, was pulled down. The Three Gentlewomen were brought back to Bourdeaux, and being shaved by the Hangman, they were shut up in the Manufacture, where they show the like Patience, Constancy, and Cheerfulness, as they did in their former Sufferings.  
The Persecutors have been no less rigorous to the Church of Gensac, than to the two former. Many Persons were Indicted, and one of them called John de Land, being taken, has been sent to the Galleys for Three Years. Seven others that are fled, have been Condemned by Out-lawry to be hanged, amongst whom are these Gentlemen, Messieurs Belleveve de Durege, de Bellefonds, de Vialle, and Peyriere de Gentillot, whose Houses have been pulled down.  
Every Age of Christianity has found by experience, that the Blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church; and we hear also that comfortable truth upon this occasion: We are told that the Death of Monsieur Margueyron, together with the generous Sufferings of those Confessors we have already spoken of, has awakened and enlivened the sleeping zeal of many People, insomuch that we are assured, that several other Persons would joyfully Sacrifice their lives, rather than fall again into their former weakness. Several Persons of Nerac, and of Lygoules near Bergerac are also Persecuted, and some taken, though sentence has not been pronounced against them, for aught we can yet learn; and we are informed by the last public accounts, that the Persecution continneth there with a very great fury, as well as in all other Provinces of France.  
I would here put an end to this Discourse, but that I promised to make some few Reflections upon the unreasonable fondness of a certain hot Party amongst us for the French King; though they at the same time pretend to be both true Englishmen and good Protestants. Indeed their proceed are so odd and extravagant, that future Ages will hardly believe what we see with our own Eyes. These Gentlemen would fain persuade the World, that the Persecutions in France have not been so violent as we have been informed, and that the French King hath now changed his mind, and is become another man: But what can be more idle, ridiculous, and impertinent, than this stuff of theirs? Would they with a Brazen brow, give the lie to so many Thousands of Witnesses, and to our own eyes too? But what new varnish can they find to put upon this last Persecution? Truly if the French King hath now changed his mind, he must have been exceeding violent indeed, since the very dregs of his Fury are still so terrible; For what more Cruel can be imagined, than to put a Gentleman to a vile and infamous death; to send so many others to the Galleys, and to condemn others to shameful Punishment, upon the bare pretence that they have met together to Pray to God, notwithstanding his prohibition? If so hard treatment may not be called a Persecution, I do not know then what may deserve that name: and on the contrary, if this be meekness and gentleness, I cannot imagine what that is which we call Inhumanity.  
I would beg leave to ask our Murmurers only two questions. 1. How is it possible that a Tyrant, who has so cruelly persecuted the Protestants in his own Kingdom; who has pulled down so many of their Churches, put to death so many men upon account of Religion only; who, further yet, boasts, That he himself hath almost rooted out the Heresy; and who still continues his Rage and Fury against all the Protestants that are found in his Dominions; I say, How is it possible, that such a man can ever be the Protector of the Church of England, as our Grumbling Crew call him? Perhaps they will answer, That the French Hugonots have not been used with so much severity upon the account of their Religion merely, but because the French King found them dangerous to his Grandeur and his State, having strong suspicions of their Fidelity; but let them prove what they say: I would fain know what Public Act or Declaration they can instance in; and whether they have any Witnesses that will say, the Booted-Missionaries have ever required from the Hugonots a greater Test of their Fidelity, than they had before, but only their forcing them to go to Mass. Every body knows, that this French King owes his Crown to those very Protestants he has so cruelly used; and consequently, that their Fidelity could not be in the least called into question. But if the French King aimed not at the extirpation of the Protestant Religion, why doth he say in his Letters and Memorials against the Emperor and the King of Spain, that it was his intention? Why hath he destroyed the Churches of Orange, and forced his Majesty's Subjects, as well as his own, to forsake their Religion, and to go to Mass? And why hath he compelled the Duke of Savoy 10 destroy the Vaudcis, as his Royal Highness has publicly declared? The French King having then declared War against all the Protestants of the World, I thought the Church of England had not been excepted; and I was induced to that belief, by the Measures the late King had taken with him, effectually to destroy it; but being now assured by some, that he is the Protector of it, I am surprised at such a wonderful Change; and this is the first Phoenomenon, the Solution of which I humbly desire of our Learned Mutmurers.  
I ask, 2dly. If it be possible, that a true Englishman, that is, one living free under Their Majesty's most Gracious Government, and making use of his right Reason, can wish a Tyrant for his King; an Oppressor, who has made his Subjects the most miserable Wretches and Slaves in the world, though Inhabitants of one of the most plentiful Countries of the earth; who sucks their very blood and marrow from them, to satisfy his vast Ambition, or his impure Lusts and Pleasures, and who sacrifices them to his least Interest or Vanity: The Enemy of Mankind, the Invader of his Neighbours: A Prince, if I may call him so, who has ever yet scorned to be a slave to his Oaths or Treaties; and on whom, the Religion be professes, and all that is sacred amongst men, has no manner of Force or Power; to use the very words of the King of Spain, in his Letter to the Pope. In a word, If it be possible for an Englishman, who loves the Interest of his Nation, to wish for a man of the Character of this French King, to be his Absolute Lord and Master?  
Till these Gentlemen will be pleased to answer me these two questions, I shall make bold to deliver my own thoughts upon them: And as to the first, I say, That the French King is not the Protector of the Church of England, and that his Idolaters who give him that magnificent Title, prevaricate, and make use of some equivocation; for they must mean another Church far different from that here established by the Laws of this Kingdom. Ours needs no other Protection, than that of Their Majesties; and sure I am, the Gentlemen I speak of, are Papists in their hearts, notwithstanding their so much affected outward show of Protestantism, if they have any Religion at all. As to the second Query, If it be possible for an Englishman who loveth the true Interest of his Nation, to wish his Master might be a man of the Character of this French King? I answer, No: And therefore by the reasons contained in the Query, I conclude, That the Murmurers are either Fools, or Enemies of this Country: Now to say they are the former, I confess it would seem a little too hard a Censure, and I should wrong several of them, whom I know to be men of Parts. They are so fond of themselves, that sure I am, they would much rather be called Enemies to this Nation. And though Complaisance is opposite to my temper, yet for their sakes I must upon this occasion force my natural inclination, and agree with them, that this last Character is more suitable to their proceed, than that of Fools.  
Having given an exact Parallel between the Ancient and Modern Persecutors, my Design would be imperfect, should I omit saying something of the Tragic Death that commonly attends the Enemies of the Church. God has in all ages made manifest the severe Judgements he exercises upon them. The Relation of the Deaths of the Primitive Persecutors, written by Lactantius, which I have so often quoted, is so frightful, that the consideration of their miserable end, ought, one would think, to deter any man from Persecuting for the future; and had the French King but reflected upon their Fate, and the Tragic Deaths of his own Ancestors, I doubt very much whether he would have taken so dangerous a course. King Henry the 2d. who had sworn to see Ann Dubourg a Protestant, burning at the stake, received a mortal wound in one of his eyes a few days before, from the Earl of Montgomery, of which he died 11 days after. Francis the 2d. who was very severe upon the Hugonots, died suddenly. Charles the 9th. who caused the said Hugonots to be so barbarously murdered at the Bloody and Memorable Massacre at Paris, at last drowned himself in his own blood. Henry the 3d. no less cruel than his Brother, was killed by a Monk. Henry the 4th. who renounced the Protestant Religion, to turn Papist, and withal a Bigot, was first wounded by a Disciple of the Jesuits, and afterwards murdered in his own Coach, and in his chief City. And Lewis the 13th. having endeavoured to extirpate the Protestants, died miserably, (as some say), being eaten up by Vermin. Lewis the 14th. is not yet dead, and so I cannot tell what will be his sit; but I would advise him to consider the dreadful Death of Galerius Maximian; he was visited by God with an Ulcer in his secret Parts, and died afterwards in a most miserable manner. The French King is extremely like to that Ancient Persecutor, let him fear lest his Fistula does not presage to him the same Fate.  
FINIS.    

BOOKS Printed for, and Sold by Richard Baldwin.  
EUrope's Chains Broke; Or, a Sure and Speedy Project to Rescue Her from the Present Usurpations of the Tyrant of France.  
Christianissimus Christianandus. Or, Reason for the Reduction of France to a more Christian State in Europe, By Marchimam Needham.  
Truth brought to Light. Or, the History of the first Fourteen Years of King James the I. In Four Parts. I. The Happy State of England ●t His Majesty's Entrance; The Corruption of it afterwards. With the Rise of Particular Favourites, and the Divisions between This and other States abroad. II. The Divorce betwixt the Lady Frances Howard and Robert Earl of Essex, before the King's Delegates, authorized under the King's Broad Seal. As also the Arraignment of Sir Jervis Yelvis, Lieutenant of the Tower, etc. about the Murder of Sir. Thomas Overbury, with all Proceed thereupon, and the King's gracious Pardon and Favour to the Countess. III. A Declaration of His Majesty's Revenue since he came to the Crown of England. With the Annual Issues, Gifts, Pensions, and Extraordinary Disbursments, IU. The Commissions and Warrants for the Burning of two Heretics, newly revived, with two Pardons, one for Theophilus higgon's, the other for Sir Eustate Hart.  
A True Relation of the Cruelties and Barbarities of the French, upon the English Prisoners of War; being a Journal of their Travels from Dinant in Britain, to Thoulon in Provence: And back again. With a Description of the Situation, and Fortifications of all the Eminent Towns upon the Road, and their Distance. Of their Prisons and Hospitals, and the Number of the Men that died under their Cruelty: With the Names of many of them, and the Places of their Deaths and Burials: With an Account of the great Charity and Sufferings of the Poor Protestants of France: And other Material Things that happened upon the Way. Fathfully and Impartially performed by Richard Strutton, being an Eye-Witness, and a Fellow Sufferer.  
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A New, Plain, Short, and Complete French and English Grammar; whereby the Learner may attain in few Months to Speak and Writ French Correctly, as they do now in the Court of France, and wherein all that is Dark, Superfluous, and Deficient in other Grammars, is Plain, Short and Methodically supplied. Also very useful to Strangers, that are desirous to learn the English Tongue; For whose sake is added a short, but very exact English Grammar. The Second Edition, by Peter Berault.