WE have seen that the Reformation was to the Vaudois, the very fulfillment of their long-cherished hopes.
In it they saw the abundant and triumphant answer to centuries of patient watching and testimony. Not in vain had their fathers sown the precious seed, though often, alas, in tears and blood; for now the blessed harvest time had come, and the golden sheaves were ready to be gathered in. No longer were they alone to be—
" The watchers of a beacon whose light can never die."
Now the long dark night was past; but that lonely light in the mountains burned brightly to the last, even until the day dawned, and the dark shadows had fled away.
Amid the great and general felicity created by the advent of the Reformation, one cause of exceeding sorrow remained. There was as yet no peace. Destined as the Reformation was in time to stay the cruel band of persecution, the day was still far distant. For a century and a half there ensued a time of suffering unexampled in the past. Persecution now became general against all who professed the Reformed faith, but the cruelties inflicted on the Waldenses surpassed in severity them all.
It was towards the close of 1534, scarcely two years after the peaceful conference of Chamforans, that rumors of an impending persecution reached the valleys. Happily, however, the storm that threatened was for a time averted. Political events turned the current of the persecutor's zeal, and for a further season the Vaudois enjoyed a continuance of peace and repose. Meanwhile, the enemy was maturing his plans for another attack. and only waiting the opportunity to carry a war of extermination into the heart of the mountains.
About this period (1536) Piedmont, by the fortune of wax, passed into the possession of the Sing of France. After being subject to that kingdom for twenty-three years, it was restored to its rightful sovereign, the Duke of Savoy, on the 3rd of April, 1559. This was a cause of great joy to the Vaudois. who looked for tranquil times on the accession of the young duke, who had just married the Princess Margaret of France, a relative of the celebrated Queen of Navarre, the defender of the Reformed faith. But, alas, there was in the treaty of peace that had restored the young duke to his dominions, a most alarming condition. He therein promised to wage a continuous warfare against heresy and the new opinions of the Reformation; and, furthermore, engaged to stamp out, with the utmost vigor, the long and deep-rooted heresy that existed in his own dominion of Piedmont. " Thus in sending back the Duke of Savoy," says one writer, " they armed him with a dagger, and forced him to promise that he would plunge it into the hearts of the most faithful of his subjects." Here, then, was the occasion for which the enemy waited. This artfully-laid scheme for further persecution was all the work of the Papacy; hard, cruel, unrelenting as ever.
When the existence of this article in the treaty became known to the Vaudois, it cast a deep gloom over the whole of their valleys. Instead of peace and tranquility, as they had fondly hoped would follow the accession of the young prince, they now saw that a fresh persecution was inevitable. Nor were they mistaken. No sooner was the duke reinstated, than an edict was proclaimed throughout the valleys, commanding all his subjects to " attend mass on pain of death." To carry out this cruel decree a commission was given to the Count de la Trinita, a prince of the blood, a furious Catholic, and one eager to uproot the hated heresy.
While the storm was gathering, and after its first shock had fallen upon those confessors who dwelt at the foot of the Alps, the churches of Piedmont assembled from all the valleys to deliberate on the steps that should be taken. It was a time of deep anxiety and sorrow. Well they knew what would follow the refusal to obey the royal edict. Already were the Duke's forces on the march to enforce it. But they could not violate their consciences by attending "mass," they were convinced that they ought to obey God rather than man; and though, as dutiful subjects of their prince, the Vaudois were prepared to obey every reasonable demand, when that demand came in between their souls and God, they must stand firm, be the result what it may.
One very faint hope. of escape, however, remained. After much humiliation, prayer, and fasting, the men of the valleys resolved to send a solemn protest to their prince, which should be at once an humble remonstrance, and petition; and which should also set forth the state of their affairs, and the justness of their cause. In this famous protest the Vaudois claimed first of all the right to be heard -a right denied to no one accused, however criminal. They next most fully and solemnly disclaimed the main charge against them-that of departing from the true faith, and of adopting doctrines not found in the Scriptures, and unknown to the early ages of the Church. " Their faith," said they, " was that which Christ Himself had taught; which the Apostles, following their great Master, had preached; which the fathers had vindicated with their pens, and the martyrs with their blood, and which the first four Councils had ratified, and proclaimed to be the faith of the Christian world. They were willing any moment to appeal their cause to a General Council, provided that Council were willing to decide the question by the only infallible standard they knew-the Word of God. If on this evidence they should be convicted of even one heresy, most willingly would they surrender it." After this simple but powerful exposition of their faith, they advert to the purity and blamelessness of their lives, their loyalty to the throne, and the services which they had always heartily rendered in the past, and which they were still prepared to render. One thing only they could not surrender, and that was their consciences This petition the Churches of the Alps now prepared to despatch to the Duke. But where was the man who could hold his life so cheap as to venture on this dangerous mission Happily one of their pastors, M. Gillies, a devoted and courageous man, undertook to lay the petition at the foot of the throne. Meanwhile the Waldenses waited with mingled feelings of hope and fear for the result. Their hopes, indeed, were small; but their eyes were turned to heaven, and if the answer should be peace how well! if otherwise, they were ready to accept the alternative; they were not afraid to die.
Three months passed away before reply or edict of any kind reached the valleys. In the meantime the persecution had fairly commenced, and the expedition under La Trinita was every day drawing nearer to the mountains. Already had desolation and ruin marked its advance across the adjacent plains of Piedmont; a brief space, and La Trinita with his soldiers would be amongst them to ravage and destroy. At length, a reply was received from the Duke, but the conditions imposed were such as the Waldenses could not accept. While tacitly acknowledging the justice of the Vaudois' claims, the Duke still threatened persecution, and even extermination, if they refused to return to the pale of Or Romish Church. Thus TUB were the worst fears of this poor suffering people realized; and they saw before them a long vista of terrible trial, misery, and woe.
We have no space, nor shall we weary the reader with all the details of the fearful scenes that followed. Eager for blood, and with an eye for the possessions of the heretics, the followers of La Trinita, when the word was given, rapidly advanced toward the valleys, thinking to effect an easy entrance. But the Vaudois, remembering how, in the past, God had fought wonderfully for their deliverance, had once more placed their cause in His hand. With earnest supplication they besought that the enemy might be defeated, even at the threshold of their homes, and the lives of His people be preserved. Nor was this appeal made in vain. Again and again, La Trinita attempted, like his Papal predecessor Cataneo, to force an entrance into the valleys. But each succeeding attack only proved more disastrous than the last; until, at length, baffled and furious, he reluctantly withdrew his troops. The hardy mountaineers were too strong for him: he would try other, and less hazardous, means to secure the same ends- If the Vaudois were bold and fearless, he knew they were also singularly guileless and unsuspicious: and it was with the arts of duplicity and lying, La Trinita now thought to accomplish what, by his arms, he had failed to achieve.
Accompanying the crusade was an inquisitor named Jacomel, one as cunning as he was cruel. La Trinita found in him a suitable tool to carry out these fresh tactics, and at once set him to work. Making his way into the valleys, Jacomel, under the pretense of desiring peace, and feigning at the same time a love for the Gospel, gathered the leading men of the Waldenses together, and prevailed on them to meet La Trinita, assuring them that all would speedily end well. La Trinita then assumed a marked tone of moderation. He said it was no pleasant business in which the Duke had engaged him, but that peace, he believed, could easily be secured if they were willing to make some slight concession; ending a long harangue by inviting them to lay down their arms, and-just for form's sake-permit him with a small train to celebrate mass in the Church of St. Laurenzo in Angrogna, and afterward pay a visit to the Pra del Tor.
Such was the simplicity and confidingness of the Waldenses, that they fell in with this proposal, though there were some amongst them who were strongly averse to accepting it. Next day the Papal leader entered the valleys, and his crusade was virtually accomplished. But it served his purpose to continue to wear the mask a little longer. Still assuming a desire for peace, he recommended the Vaudois to again petition the Duke, who had now returned to the plains of Piedmont; at the same time strongly urging on them to make success certain, by raising a sum of 20,000 crowns. If this sum were presented to the Duke, he could promise them immediate peace, and liberty to practice their religion as they liked. Thus one concession after another was made by the men of the valleys, until at last, La Trinita thought he had them entirely in his power.
While the deputies were absent, and when the Vaudois thought themselves secure, at least till the Duke's answer was received, the soldiers of the Papal leader were suddenly let loose on them. A fearful massacre followed. Surprised, and defenseless, most of the inhabitants of those valleys entered by the soldiers were cut down in cold blood. A few escaped to the woods and caves. A touching instance is told of a helpless old man, who had lived a hundred and three years. He was placed in a cave, under the care of a grand-daughter, a young girl of seventeen summers. His hiding place, alas, was discovered; the poor old man murdered; and the horrible perpetrators of this deed, offering outrage to the girl, she fled wildly from their brutal pursuit, leaped over a precipice, and died.
But a just retribution was to overtake La Trinita for his dark treachery. The Waldenses were now awake to the real state of affairs. They saw plainly that they had been deceived. Their petition, after a contemptuous silence of six weeks, was coldly denied, and more uncompromising conditions than ever were imposed. The fearless spirit of the Vaudois was now fully aroused. They shook off depression, and prepared, with the help of the God of battles, to stand to their arms for the protection of their hearths and homes. As one limn, all the inhabitants of Piedmont rose up against the cruel invader and La Trinita, after losing the greater part of his troops, was glad to effect his escape from the valleys.
The war was now fairly started. The Papal leader, having received large reinforcements, advanced boldly on Angrogna, never doubting that the Vaudois would be overwhelmed by the prospect of such an array. But he was miserably mistaken. Attack as he might, with few or more, not a foot could be gained within those fastnesses. The Vaudois fought with an earnestness born of just indignation and a sense of the righteousness of their cause. Space fails to tell of the humiliating defeats inflicted on this proud persecutor. Thrice he attempted to enter Angrogna, and thrice he was repulsed with heavy loss. He attacked the valleys, also, at three different points, at all three of which he was repelled. Once, by stratagem, he nearly succeeded in gaining an entrance into the famous natural citadel of Pra del Tor, but with an almost miraculous courage, the post was held by six youths against a numerous troop until help arrived.
Finally, in the last campaign, the greater part of his force, caught and hemmed in between high rocks, was completely annihilated, and La Trinita himself escaped with the utmost difficulty.
Fifteen months this cruel war continued. By far the greater loss was on the side of the Duke; and he was glad, on the 5th of June, 1561, to open negotiations with his subjects, and finally to sign a treaty of peace. The conditions of this peace permitted the Vaudois to build churches, and to worship in them according to their own mind. A time of peace and repose followed, of which the Churches were sadly in need. But how many, alas! had been cut off when, after the din of war ceased, they met once more in their quiet valleys, to speak of all that they had suffered, and of all, too, that they had gained.