A Pattern of Popish Peace, Answer
THE ANSWER OF THE Gentlemen, Captaines, Burgesses, and other being in the Town of Rochell, to the commandements that have been given them in the name of the King, to receive garrisons.
WE the Gentlemen, Captaines, Burgesses, and other now being in this Towne of Rochell, doe give answer to you Mounsieur N. and to such commandements as you give us in the name of his Majesty, that we cannot acknowledge that, that which is signified unto us, and the Proclamation which you require that wee should cause to bee published, doe proceed from his Majesty. And thereof we call to witnesse his Majesty himselfe, his Letters of the 22. and 24. of August, his owne signet, and the publishing of the same Letters, by the which his said Majesty layeth all the fault of all the trouble lately hapned, & of the cruel slaughter done at Paris, upon those of the house of Guise, protesting that hee had enough to do to keepe himselfe safe within his Castell of Louure with those of his Guard. And we shal never suffer our selves to be perswaded that so foule an enterprise and so barbarous a slaughter hath at any time entred into the mind of his Majesty, much lesse that the same hath been done by his expresse commandement, as the paper importeth which you have exhibited unto us, nor that his Majesty hath been so ill advised, as himself to cut off his own armes, or to defile the sacred wedding of Madame his own sister with the shedding of so much noble & innocent bloud, and with the shame of so cruell a fact to stain the nation of France and the bloud royall, which hath heretofore ever among al nations born the name of franke and courteous: nor that he hath had mind to deliver matter to writers to set forth a tragical history such as antiquity hath never heard speake of the like, and such as posterity cannot report without horror. But that it was first layd at Rome, and afterward hatched at Paris, by the authors of all the troubles of France. And howsoever it be, we are ready to maintaine that out of the mouth of his Majesty doth not proceed hot and cold, white and blacke, and that hee doth not now say one thing, and by and by another, as hee should doe if the paper that you present unto us had passed from him, protesting that he will inviolably keepe his Edict, and immediately breaking the same in declaring that he commanded those murders to be committed, having also made protestation before, that it is to his great griefe, and done by the outrage and violence of those of Guise, against whom he was not able to make speedy resistance in time, as his Majesty desired. And in this quarrell, wee the Gentlemen, Captaines, and other that make you this answer, are ready to try it by combate man to man, or otherwise, to maintain the honour of our King against all those that so prophane holy things, and as much as in them lyeth do by such words and titles villainously defile the excellence of his Majesty, and of the noble Princes of his bloud. Which we may right well conjecture & estimate, by the slaughters that are yet in doing, as well in the Town of Paris, as else-where, upon so many Noblemen, Gentlemen and other, men, women and children, and upon a great number of young schollars (the maintenance under God, of Realmes and Commonweales in time to come) and by many other barbarous, unnaturall and unmanly acts generally committed. We thinke therefore and judge that herein treason is enterprised against the person of his Majesty, and of my Lords his brethren, and that the Guisians mean to invade the Crown of the Realme, as they have of long time practised, and howsoever it be, we say that his Majesty is forced by the power that they have taken upon them, and usurped, by meanes of the rebellious stirre of the Commons of Paris. As for that which they say, that the Admirall and those of the Religion had conspired against the Kings Majesty and his brethren; these bee allegations of as great truth, and of as good likelihood, as their manner of proceeding in justice hath been orderly, beginning at execution before examination of the fact. But it is now no need to tarry for time to discover it, for the matter is plaine to be seene with eye, and groaped with hand, and all those of the Romish Religion that have remaining any drop of nature of man, doe confesse it and hold downe their heads for shame, cursing both with heart and mouth the cruell executers of this abominable enterprise, and the wicked disturbers of common quiet, which can yet no more suffer, than they hitherto have done, that this poore Realme should long enjoy the benefit of that peace, which the King alone, next under God, had wisely caused to be made, and to be accordingly observed, whereof this Realme began to feele the good taste, to the great contentment of all persons, except the enemies of peace and of this Realme, namely, the Guisians. Finally, when his Majesty being out of their hands and power, shall declare what is his pleasure, we will endevour us to obey him in all things, wherein our consciences, which are dedicate to God alone, shal not be wounded, a true christian resolutionin which case wee will rather forsake the earth than heaven, and our fraile and transitory houses rather than the heavenly mansions. But hitherto the law of Nature, and the duty that we owe to our naturall Prince, to the preservation of his Crowne, and to the safety of our lives, our wives and children, doth command us to stand upon our guard, and not to put to our selves in the mercy of those that have received the same bloudy commission from the Guisians, under the pretended name of the King to use us in the same manner as they have wickedly, trayterously, and unnaturally done to those about his Majesty, and as it were under his wings, and under the skirts of his robe, which the traytors strangers have stained with the true French bloud, without that his Majesty hath been able to remedy it, nor to stay their cursed attempts: so much lesse is he able now so farre off to defend us as he would, which his Majesties good will being knowne unto us, doth arme us for our defence, and for the safeguard of our lives, and for the priviledges which he hath given us, untill such time as he shall be able by himselfe to defend us against his enemies and ours.
FINIS.
Errata.
IN the Epist. page 2. line. 13. for deceit read deceive. p. 4. l. 8. put out (it)
Pag. 11. lin. 3. for Princes read Prince. p. 31. l 7. Margrat r. Margaret. p. 35. lin. 9. for sealed r. seale. p. 53. l 5. for County r. Count. p. 59. l. 17. for County r. Count. p. 66. l. 5. for keeker r. keeper. p. 78. l. 22. for fiances r. finances. p. 81. l. 25. for Majesty r. Majesties. p. 84. l. 1. for speeces r. speeches. p. 90. l. 15. for that Parisians r. that the Parisians p. 105. l. 6. for Cod r. God. p. 129. l. 14. for house r. houses. p. 157. l. 11. for way r. away.
ORdered by the Committee for Printing, that this Booke entituled A French Massacre, or Patterne of popish Peace, be re-printed; and that Master Thomas Case be desired to nominate the man that shall print it.
Iohn White.
I Nominate Richard Whitaker to Print this Booke, as is desired by the Committee for printing.
Thomas Case.
End of the text · François Hotman, A Pattern of Popish Peace (1644)