Page:Protestant Exiles from France Agnew vol 1.djvu/439

 : first, the liberation from the galleys of the victims of Revocation times; secondly, the identification of the insurgent Camisards with the sufferers under the previous persecution; and thirdly, the re-establishment of toleration, that Protestant worship might cease to be treasonable or illegal. He made a favourable impression upon the court and government of England, and upon all with whom he had intercourse. It seems certain that he derived much help from the Marquis de Miremont. A memorial was presented to the Godolphin ministry, proving that the Sovereign of England was entitled, by treaty, to insist on the perpetuity of the Edict of Nantes, and of the other Edicts of toleration, both those on which it was framed, and those by which it was confirmed. The satisfaction which Rochegude reaped from this visit may be inferred from the royal letter of which, on his departure, he was the bearer to the States-General of Holland:—

“High and Mighty Lords, our good Friends, Allies, and Confederates,

“Whereas we ought to be more careful in nothing (after the happy success wherewith it has pleased God to bless our arms in this just war) than to improve that assistance to the advancement of the honour of His Holy Name, by delivering those that are oppressed from their sufferings, and by maintaining the cause of the Protestant religion, we did in the last negotiations for peace give orders to our Ministers and Plenipotentiaries to endeavour, in our name, to procure all the good and relief that was possible for the Protestants of France, that when a general peace is established, they may not be left to groan under the calamities which they have so long suffered in galleys, prisons, &c.

“And as it is fit that the Protestant Powers should concur to support the interests of the said confessors, who are persecuted by reason of their adherence to our holy faith —

“We were willing to write to you on this subject, to acquaint you with our sentiments more expressly, and earnestly recommend to you the affair of the French Protestants, who are overwhelmed with all the calamities of an unjust and violent persecution. We persuade ourselves that your zeal, faith, piety and compassion are so great, that you take to heart as much as possible the oppressions of our Protestant brethren, having with pleasure seen the resolution you delivered upon it to the Marquis of Rochegude, who brings you this letter.

“We doubt not but you will join your efforts with ours, when occasion offers, to act effectually in favour of the French Protestants, that their persecution may be brought to an end, and that they may enjoy all the advantages that can be obtained for them. . ..

"Given at our court of Windsor, 20th July, 1709, in the eighth year of our reign, “”

“By Her Majesty’s Command, .”

On the 8th of April of this year Lord Feversham died. He had no children; the estate which he had in right of his wife descended to the heirs of her only sister, the Baroness Rockingham; and his money and personal property to his nephew and niece, the Marquis de Miremont and Mademoiselle de Bourbon, and to another nephew, the Earl of Lifford. We observe nothing for two or three years concerning the Marquis, except that he continued on the list of Lieutenant-Generals. His friend, Rochegude, appears again before long.

France was all but exhausted by the long war, and all the refugees thought that the allies would extort many concessions from her government, not only for territorial and political aggrandizement, but also in behalf of persecuted Protestants. But the advent of Harley and Bolingbroke to power in Britain changed the attitude of our government, so that instead of dictating the terms of peace, we as very humble servants of the French monarch gave the carte blanche to him. Astonished Frenchmen exclaimed, “Les Miracles de Londres!” The Marquis de Rochegude in great agitation hastened to London, and was graciously received at Windsor. He presented a memorial to our government, dated, “Windsor, 6th September 1711,” urging that an article in favour of the French Protestants who are in the galleys, prisons, convents, or other places of confinement, should be inserted in the preliminaries of the negotiations for peace, such being a matter rather of humanity than of religion. The Memorial was written in a fervid style, and asked, “Is it possible that there should not be one article in favour of the church so severely oppressed and persecuted in France? — an article which ought to be the preliminary of the preliminaries!” He suggested that the 4th Article of the Peace of Ryswick, regarding the Protestants of Germany, might be adopted and extended so as to embrace Protestants everywhere, the effect of which would be to recognise all Protestants of all nations as one corporate body. “A more particular care,” he added, “ought to be had of those who, for so long a time past suffer under oppression — not daring to own the true religion without exposing themselves to the galleys or gibbets. And this shews the necessity of re-establishing the Protestant religion in France, otherwise the galleys