Massacres Of The South
A >> Alexandre Dumas, Pere >> Massacres Of The South
These precautions had both a good and a bad side. The gens d'armes at
the door of the meetinghouse gave if not a promise of security at least a
promise of support, but they showed to the citizens of the other party
what was about to be done; so before nine o'clock groups of Catholics
began to form, and as it happened to be Sunday the inhabitants of the
neighbouring villages arriving constantly by twos and threes soon united
these groups into a little army. Thus the streets leading to the church
being thronged, the Protestants who pushed their way through were greeted
with insulting remarks, and even the president of the Consistory, whose
white, hair and dignified expression had no effect upon the mob, heard
the people round him saying, "These brigands of Protestants are going
again to their temple, but we shall soon give them enough of it."
The anger of the populace soon grows hot; between the first bubble and
the boiling-point the interval is short. Threats spoken in a low voice
were soon succeeded by noisy objurgations. Women, children, and men
brake out into yells, "Down with the broilers!" (for this was one of the
names by which the Protestants were designated). "Down with the
broilers! We do not want to see them using our churches: let them give
us back our churches; let them give us back our churches, and go to the
desert. Out with them! Out with them! To the desert! To the desert!"
As the crowd did not go beyond words, however insulting, and as the
Protestants were long inured to much worse things, they plodded along to
their meeting-house, humble and silent, and went in, undeterred by the
displeasure they aroused, whereupon the service commenced.
But some Catholics went in with them, and soon the same shouts which had
been heard without were heard also within. The general, however, was on
the alert, and as soon as the shouts arose inside the gens d'armes
entered the church and arrested those who had caused the disturbance.
The crowds tried to rescue them on their way to prison, but the general
appeared at the head of imposing forces, at the sight of which they
desisted. An apparent cam succeeded the tumult, and the public worship
went on without further interruption.
The general, misled by appearances, went off himself to attend a military
mass, and at eleven o'clock returned to his quarters for lunch. His
absence was immediately perceived and taken advantage of. In the
twinkling of an eye, the crowds, which had dispersed, gathered together
in even greater numbers and the Protestants, seeing themselves once more
in danger, shut the doors from within, while the gens d'armes guarded
them without. The populace pressed so closely round the gens d'armes,
and assumed such a threatening attitude, that fearing he and his men
would not be able to hold their own in such a throng, the captain ordered
M. Delbose, one of his officers, to ride off and warn the general. He
forced his way through the crowd with great trouble, and went off at a
gallop. On seeing this, the people felt there was no time to be lost;
they knew of what kind the general was, and that he would be on the spot
in a quarter of an hour. A large crowd is invincible through its
numbers; it has only to press forward, and everything gives way, men,
wood, iron. At this moment the crowd, swayed by a common impulse, swept
forward, the gens d'armes and their horses were crushed against the wall,
doors gave way, and instantly with a tremendous roar a living wave
flooded the church. Cries of terror and frightful imprecations were
heard on all sides, everyone made a weapon of whatever came to hand,
chairs and benches were hurled about, the disorder was at its height; it
seemed as if the days of the Michelade and the Bagarre were about to
return, when suddenly the news of a terrible event was spread abroad, and
assailants and assailed paused in horror. General Lagarde had just been
assassinated.
As the crowd had foreseen, no sooner did the messenger deliver his
message than the general sprang on his horse, and, being too brave, or
perhaps too scornful, to fear such foes, he waited for no escort, but,
accompanied by two or three officers, set off at full gallop towards the
scene of the tumult. He had passed through the narrow streets which led
to the meeting-house by pushing the crowd aside with his horse's chest,
when, just as he got out into the open square, a young man named Boisson,
a sergeant in the Nimes National Guard, came up and seemed to wish to
speak to him. The general seeing a man in uniform, bent down without a
thought of danger to listen to what he had to say, whereupon Boisson drew
a pistol out and fired at him. The ball broke the collar-bone and lodged
in the neck behind the carotid artery, and the general fell from his
horse.
The news of this crime had a strange and unexpected effect; however
excited and frenzied the crowd was, it instantly realised the
consequences of this act. It was no longer like the murder of Marshal
Brune at Avignon or General Ramel at Toulouse, an act of vengeance on a
favourite of Napoleon, but open and armed rebellion against the king. It
was not a simple murder, it was high treason.
A feeling of the utmost terror spread through the town; only a few
fanatics went on howling in the church, which the Protestants, fearing
still greater disasters, had by this time resolved to abandon. The first
to come out was President Olivier Desmonts, accompanied by M. Vallongues,
who had only just arrived in the city, but who had immediately hurried to
the spot at the call of duty.
M. Juillerat, his two children in his arms, walked behind them, followed
by all the other worshippers. At first the crowd, threatening and
ireful, hooted and threw stones at them, but at the voice of the mayor
and the dignified aspect of the president they allowed them to pass.
During this strange retreat over eighty Protestants were wounded, but not
fatally, except a young girl called Jeannette Cornilliere, who had been
so beaten and ill-used that she died of her injuries a few days later.
In spite of the momentary slackening of energy which followed the
assassination of General Lagarde, the Catholics did not remain long in a
state of total inaction. During the rest of the day the excited populace
seemed as if shaken by an earthquake. About six o'clock in the evening,
some of the most desperate characters in the town possessed themselves of
a hatchet, and, taking their way to the Protestant church, smashed the
doors, tore the pastors' gowns, rifled the poor-box, and pulled the books
to pieces. A detachment of troops arrived just in time to prevent their
setting the building on fire.
The next day passed more quietly. This time the disorders were of too
important a nature for the prefect to ignore, as he had ignored so many
bloody acts in the past; so in due time a full report was laid before the
king. It became know the same evening that General Lagarde was still
living, and that those around him hoped that the wound would not prove
mortal. Dr. Delpech, who had been summoned from Montpellier, had
succeeded in extracting the bullet, and though he spoke no word of hope,
he did not expressly declare that the case was hopeless.
Two days later everything in the town had assumed its ordinary aspect,
and on the 21st of November the king issued the following edict:--
"Louis, by the grace of God, King of France and of Navarre,
"To all those to whom these presents shall come, greeting:
"An abominable crime has cast a stain on Our city of Nimes. A seditious
mob has dared to oppose the opening of the Protestant place of worship,
in contempt of the constitutional charter, which while it recognises the
Catholic religion as the religion of the State, guarantees to the other
religious bodies protection and freedom of worship. Our military
commandant, whilst trying to disperse these crowds by gentle means before
having resort to force, was shot down, and his assassin has till now
successfully evaded the arm of the law. If such an outrage were to
remain unpunished, the maintenance of good government and public order
would be impossible, and Our ministers would be guilty of neglecting the
law.
"Wherefore We have ordered and do order as follows:
"Art. 1. Proceedings shall be commenced without delay by Our attorney,
and the attorney-general, against the perpetrator of the murderous attack
on the person of Sieur Lagarde, and against the authors, instigators, and
accomplices of the insurrection which took place in the city of Nimes on
the 12th of the present month.
"Art. 2. A sufficient number of troops shall be quartered in the said
city, and shall remain there at the cost of the inhabitants, until the
assassin and his accomplices have been produced before a court of law.
"Art. 3. All those citizens whose names are not entitled to be on the
roll of the National Guard shall be disarmed.
"Our Keeper of the Seals, Our Minister of War, Our Minister of the
Interior, and Our Minister of Police, are entrusted with the execution of
this edict.
"Given at Paris at Our Castle of the Tuileries on the 21st of November in
the year of grace 1815, and of Our reign the 21st.
"(Signed) Louis"
Boissin was acquitted.
This was the last crime committed in the South, and it led fortunately to
no reprisals.
Three months after the murderous attempt to which he had so nearly fallen
a victim, General Lagarde left Nimes with the rank of ambassador, and was
succeeded as prefect by M. d'Argont.
During the firm, just, and independent administration of the latter, the
disarming of the citizens decreed by the royal edict was carried out
without bloodshed.
Through his influence, MM. Chabot-Latour, Saint-Aulaire, and Lascour were
elected to the Chamber of Deputies in place of MM. De Calviere, De Vogue,
and De Trinquelade.
And down to the present time the name of M. d'Argont is held in
veneration at Nimes, as if he had only quitted the city yesterday.