Page:Margaret of Angoulême, Queen of Navarre (Robinson 1886).djvu/69

54 But before any result could come of this alliance Francis must be free. Soliman, in his letter, bids him not despair. It is not strange that great kings should be captive. And he adds, "My horse is always saddled, and my sword by day and night is girdled on." But it is difficult to see how Soliman could rescue the royal captive, unless by invading Hungary he could call Charles and his armies from Madrid, and leave Spain open to a French invasion.

Such plans were vague and audacious; and the present misery very real. The King was taken from Lombardy and sent to Madrid. Meanwhile panic reigned in his kingdom. Notwithstanding the poverty and division of the Emperor's camp, it still seemed possible to abandoned France that Bourbon the traitor might enter in and ravage her. Religious discord increased. The party of Luther and the Clerical party each attributed the sorrows of France to the corruption or the impiety of the other. In this year the first burnings began; and, under the influence of Cardinal Duprat, Louisa the Regent showed herself implacable towards the Reformation. The Parliament wrote to her, representing "the inconveniences which may arise from the heresies which pullulate throughout this realm": and trials were instituted against Lefebvre, Caroli, and Roussel. These were with difficulty rescued by Margaret, who procured an autograph remission of their process from her brother. Francis commanded Parliament to entreat the accused as "personages of great knowledge and men of letters and doctrine." But the danger was still so great that Roussel and Lefebvre fled to Strasburg, and henceforth corresponded under feigned names, only known to the initiated. Danger, however, only