06 - Celebrated Crimes - The Massacres of the South by Alexandre Dumas

Dumass Celebrated Crimes isnt a series designed for the faint-hearted. The novelist pulls no punches in his graphic depiction of a tumultuous era, sometimes distorting facts and levelling unfounded accusations. Its a riveting read intended for discerning, seasoned readers who can appreciate and account for the authors dramatic liberties. As per the publishers note.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter three, Part two of Celebrated Crimes Volume two, The
Massacres of the South. This is a LibriVox recording. All
LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information
or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by
John vanstan Savannah, Georgia. Celebrated Crimes, Volume two, The Massacres

(00:23):
of the South by Alexander Dumas. Chapter three, Part two.
Monsieur de Laalanda put himself at once at the head
of a strong detachment of nicolettes, and forced the woman
to walk before them till they reached the cavern, which
they never would have discovered without a guide, so cleverly
was the entrance hidden by rocks and brushwood. On entering,

(00:46):
the first thing that met their eye was the wounded,
about thirty in number. The Miicletts threw themselves upon them
and slaughtered them. This deed accomplished, they went farther into
the cave, which, to their great surprise contained a thousand
things they never expected to find there heaps of grain,
sacks of flour, barrels of wine, casks of brandy, quantities

(01:07):
of chestnuts and potatoes, and besides all this, chest containing ointments,
drugs and lint, and lastly a complete arsenal of muskets,
swords and bayonets, a quantity of powder ready made, and sulfur, saltpeter,
and charcoal. In short, everything necessary for the manufacture of more,
down to small mills to be turned by hand. Lalanda

(01:30):
kept his word. The life of an old woman was
not too much to give in return for such a treasure. Meantime,
Monsieur de Villar, as he had promised, took up Baron
Dagliare's in passing through Leon, so that during the rest
of the journey the peacemaker had plenty of time to
expatiate on his plans. As Monsieur de Villar was a

(01:53):
man of tact and a lover of justice, and desired
above all things to bring a right spirit to bear
on the performance of the duties of new office in
which his two predecessors had failed, he promised the Baron
to keep as he expressed himself, his two ears open
and listened to both sides, and as a first proof
of impartiality, he refused to give any opinion until he

(02:15):
had heard Monsieur de Julienne, who was coming to meet
him at Tournand when they arrived at Tournan, Monsieur de
Julienne was there to receive them, and had a very
different story to tell from that which Monsieur de Villar
had heard from Dagliere. According to him, the only pacific
ration possible was the complete extermination of the commissards. He

(02:37):
felt himself very hardly treated in that he had been
allowed to destroy only four hundred villages and hamlets in
the Upper Cevennes, assuring de Villar, with the confidence of
a man who had studied the matter profoundly, that they
should all have been demolished without exception, and all the
peasants killed to the last man. So it came to

(02:58):
pass that Monsieur de Villar arrived at Beaucaire, placed like
Don Juan, between the spirits of good and evil, the
one advising clemency and the other murder. Monsieur de Villar,
not being able to make up his mind. On reaching Nimes,
Daglieres assembled the principal protestants of the town, told them
of his plan, showing them its practicability, so that also

(03:21):
joined in the good work and drew up a document
in which they asked the Marechal to allow them to
take up arms and march against the rebels, as they
were determined, either to bring them back into the good
way by force of example, or to fight them as
a proof of their loyalty. This petition, which was signed
by several nobles and by almost all the lawyers and

(03:43):
merchants of the city of Nimes, was presented to Monsieur
de Villar on Tuesday, twenty second April seventeen o four
by Monsieur de Albinas, at the head of seven or
eight hundred persons of the Reformed religion. Monsieur de Villar
received the request kinimly thanked its bearer and those who
accompanied him, assuring them that he had no doubt of

(04:05):
the sincerity of their professions, and that if he were
in want of help, he would have recourse to them
with as much confidence as if they were old Catholics.
He hoped, however, to win the rebels back by mildness,
and he begged them to second his efforts in this
direction by spreading abroad the fact that an amnesty was
offered to all those who would lay down arms and

(04:26):
returned to their houses within a week. The very next day,
but one Monsieur de Villars set out from Nemes to
visit all the principal towns in order to make himself
acquainted with men, things, and places. Although the answer to
the petition had been a delicate refusal, Dagliere's was not discouraged,
but followed Monsieur de Villars everywhere. When the latter arrived

(04:50):
at Alais, the new governor sent for Monsieurs de la
Lande and de Baville in order to consult them as
to the best means of inducing the commissards to lay
down their arms. Baron Daglieres was summoned to this consultation
and described his plan to the two gentlemen as he expected.
Both were opposed to it. However, he tried to bring

(05:11):
them over to his side by presenting to them what
seemed to him to be cogent reasons for its adoption.
But Adela Landa and de Baville made light of all
his reasons and rejected his proposals with such vehemence that
the Marechal, however much inclined to the side of Dagliere's,
did not venture to act quite alone, and said he

(05:33):
would not decide on any course until he reached Uza,
Dagliere saw clearly that until he had obtained the approbation
of either the General or the Intendant, he would get
nothing from the Marchial. He therefore considered which of the
two he should try to persuade, And although de Baville
was his personal enemy, having several times shown his hatred

(05:54):
for him and his family, he decided to address himself
to him in consequence. Hence, the next day, to the
great astonishment of Monsieur de Baville, Daglieres paid him a visit.
The intent all received him coldly but politely, asked him
to sit down, and when he was seated, begged to
know the motive which had brought him. Sir replied, the

(06:16):
Baron you have given my family and me such cause
of offense that I had come to the firm resolution
never to ask a favor of you, and, as perhaps
you may have remarked during the journey we have taken
with Monsieur le Marechal, I would rather have died of
thirst than accept a glass of water from you. But
I have come here to day not upon any private

(06:37):
matter to obtain my own ends, but upon a matter
which concerns the welfare of the state. I therefore beg
you to put out of your mind the dislike which
you have to me and mine. And I do this
the more earnestly that your dislike can only have been
caused by the fact that our religion is different from yours,
a thing which could neither have been foreseen nor prevented.

(07:00):
My entreaty is that you do not try to set
Monsieur la Marechal against the course which I have proposed
to him, which I am convinced would bring the disorders
in our province to an end, stop the occurrence of
the many unfortunate events which I am sure you look
on with regret, and spare you much trouble and embarrassment.

(07:21):
The Intendan was much touched by this calm speech, and
above all by the confidence which Monsieur Dagliere's had shown him,
and replied that he had only offered opposition to the
plan of pacification because he believed it to be impractical.
Monsieur Dauglieres then warmly pressed him to try it before
rejecting it forever, and in the end Monsieur de Baville

(07:41):
withdrew his opposition. Monsieur Dagliere hastened to the Marechal, who,
finding himself no longer alone in his favorable opinion, made
no further delay, but told the Baron to call together
that very day all the people whom he thought suitable
for the required service, and desired that they should be
presented to him the next morning before he set out

(08:03):
for Nimes the next day. Instead of the fifty men
whom the Mareschal had thought could be gathered together, Dagliere's
came to him, followed by eighty, who were almost all
of good and many of noble family. The meeting took
place by the wish of the Baron, in the courtyard
of the episcopal Palace. This palace, says the Baron in

(08:23):
his memoirs, which was of great magnificence, surrounded by terraced gardens,
and superbly furnished, was occupied by Monseigneur Michel Poncet de
la Riviere. He was a man passionately devoted to pleasures
of all kinds, especially to music, women, and good cheer.
There were always to be found in his house good musicians,

(08:43):
pretty women, and excellent wines. These latter suited him so
well that he never left the table without being in
a pleasant humor, and at such a moment, if it
came into his head that any one in his diocese
was not as good a Christian as himself, he would
sit down and write to de Baville, urging that the
delinquent ought to be sent into exile. He often did

(09:05):
this honor to my late father. Monsieur Daglieres goes on
to say that on seeing such a great number of
Huguenots in the court, who were all declaring that they
were better servants of the king than the Catholics, he
almost fell from his balcony with vexation and surprise. This
vexation increased when he saw Monsieur de Villiere and Monsieur

(09:26):
de Baville, who had apartments in the palace, come down
into the court and talk to these people. One hope
still remained to him. It was that the Marechal and
the Intendant had come down to send them away. But
this last hope was cruelly disappointed when he heard Monsieur
de Villere say that he accepted their service and expected
them to obey Daglieres in all matters concerning the service

(09:50):
of the king. But this was not all that had
to be accomplished arms were necessary for the Protestants, and
though their numbers was not great, there was a difficulty
in finding them weapons. The unfortunate Calvinists had been disarmed
so often that even their table knives had been carried off,
so it was useless to search their houses for guns

(10:11):
and sabers. Daglieres proposed that they should take the arms
of the townspeople, but Monsieur de Villar considered that it
would offend the Catholics to have their arms taken from
them and given to the Protestants. In the end, however,
this was the course that had to be adopted. Monsieur
de Perette was ordered to give fifty muskets and the
same number of bayonets to Monsieur Dagliere, who also received

(10:35):
as the reward of his long patience from Monsieur de Villar,
before the latter left for Nimes. The following commission, we
Marechal de Villar, General in the Armies of the King, etc.
Et cetera, have given permission to Monsieur Dagliere, noblemen and
Protestant of the town of Uza, and to fifty men
chosen by him, to make war on the commissards signed

(10:57):
Villar given at Uza the fourth of May seventeen o four.
Hardly had Monsieur de Villars set out for names, and
Daglieres met with fresh difficulties. The bishop, who could not
forget that his episcopal palace had been turned into barracks
for Huguenots, went from house to house, threatening those who
had promised to countenance Dagliere's plans, and strictly forbidding the

(11:20):
captains of the town troops to deliver any weapons to
the Protestants. Fortunately, Dagliere had not accomplished so much without
having learned not to draw back when the road grew rough.
So he also on his side, went about confirming the
strong and encouraging the feeble, and called on Monsieur de
Peret to beg him to carry out the orders of

(11:41):
Monsieur de Villar. De Peret was happily an old soldier
whose one idea was that discipline should be maintained, so
that he gave the guns and bayonets to Daglires on
the spot without a word of objection, and thus enabled
the latter to start at five o'clock next morning with
his little band meantime, de Baville and de la Lande

(12:02):
had been reflecting what great influence Daglieres would gain in
the province should he succeed in his aims, and their
jealousy made them resolved to forestall him in his work
by themselves inducing Cavalier to abandon his present course. They
did not conceal from themselves that this would be difficult,
But as they could command means of corruption which were

(12:22):
not within the power of Dagliere's, they did not despair
of success. They therefore sent for a countryman called le
Combe in order to enlist him on their side. For Cavalier,
when a boy had been his shepherd for two years
and both had remained friends ever since, this man undertook
to try and bring about a meeting between the two

(12:42):
gentlemen and Cavalier, an enterprise which would have been dangerous
for any one else. He promised first of all to
explain to Cavalier the offers of monteurs de Baville and
de la Lande. Lecombe kept his word. He set off
the same day, and two days later appeared before Heavaliere.
The first feeling of the young chief was astonishment. The

(13:04):
second pleasure. Lacombe could not have chosen a better moment
to speak of peace to his former shepherd. Indeed, says
Cavalier in his memoirs, the loss which I had just
sustained in Naga was doubly painful to me, because it
was irreparable. I had lost at one blow not only
a great number of weapons, all my ammunition, and all

(13:25):
my money, but also a body of men inured to
danger and fatigue, and capable of any undertaking. Besides all this,
I had been robbed of my stores, a loss which
made itself felt more than all the others put together.
Because as long as the secret of the Cavern was
kept in all our misfortunes, we were never without resources.
But from the moment it got into the possession of

(13:46):
our enemies, we were quite destitute. The country was ravaged,
My friends had grown cold, their purses were empty. A
hundred towns had been sacked and burned, the prisons were
full of Protestants, the fields were uncultivated. Adding to all this,
the long promised help from England had never arrived, and
the new Marechal had appeared in the province, accompanied by

(14:07):
fresh troops. Nevertheless, in spite of his desperate position, Cavalier
listened to the propositions laid before him by Lacombe with
cold and haughty front, and his reply was that he
would never lay down arms till the Protestants had obtained
the right to the free exercise of their religion. Firm
as was this answer, Lalanda did not despair of inducing

(14:30):
Cavalier to come to terms. He therefore wrote him a
letter with his own hand, asking him for an interview
and pledging his word that if they came to no agreement,
Cavalier should be free to retire without any harm being
done him. But he added that if he refused this request,
he should regard him as an enemy to peace and
responsible for all the blood which might be shed in

(14:51):
the future. This overture, made with a soldier's frankness, had
a great effect on Cavalier, and in order that neither
his friends nor his enemy should have the least excuse
for blaming him, he resolved to show everyone that he
was eager to seize the first chance of making peace
on advantageous terms. He therefore replied to Lalanda that he

(15:12):
would come to the Bridge of Avene on that very day.
The twelfth May at noon, and sent his letter by Catanat,
ordering him to deliver it into the hands of the
Catholic General himself. Catanat was worthy of his mission. He
was a peasant from Kyla, whose real name was Abda Morrel.
He had served under Marshall Catenat in Italy, the same

(15:34):
who had maintained so gallant a struggle against Prince Eugene.
When Morrell returned home, he could talk of nothing but
his marshal and his campaigns, so that he soon went
among his neighbors by the name of Catanat. He was,
as we have seen, Cavalier's right hand, who had placed
him in command of his cavalry, and who now entrusted
him with a still more dangerous post, that of envoy

(15:56):
to a man who had often said that he would
give two thousand livers to him who would bring him
the head of cavalier in one thousand livers each for
the heads of his two lieutenants. Catanat was quite well
aware of this offer of Lalande's, yet he appeared before
the General perfectly cool and calm, only either from a
feeling of propriety or of pride. He was dressed in

(16:19):
full uniform. The bold and haughty expression of the man
who presented Cavalier's letter astonished the general, who asked him
his name. I am Catanat, he answered Catenot, exclaimed Lalande
in surprise. Yes, Catenot, commander of the cavalry of Cavalier.
What said Lolande, Are you the Catanaught who massacred so

(16:41):
many people in Beaucaire. Yes, I am, I did it,
but it was my duty, well, exclaimed Monsieur de l' londe.
You show great hardihood and daring to appear before me.
I came, said Catanat, proudly, trusting to your honor and
to the promise that brother Cavalier gave me that nothing

(17:02):
should happen to me. He was quite right, returned Lalanda,
Taking the letter. Having read it, he said, go back
to Cavalier and assure him that I shall be at
the bridge of a Vene at noon, accompanied only by
a few officers and thirty dragoons. I expect to find
him there with a similar number of men. But answered Catanaut,

(17:24):
it is possible that brother Cavalier may not wish to
come with so poor a following. If so returned. Lalanda
then tell him that he may bring his whole army
if he likes, but that I shall not take a
single man with me. More than I have said, as
Cavalier has confidence in me, I have confidence in him.

(17:44):
Catanot reported DeLanda's answer to his chief. It was of
a kind that he understood and liked. So, leaving the
rest of his troops at Massan, he chose sixty men
from his infantry and eight horsemen as escort. On coming
in sight of the bridge, he saw Lalanda approaching from
the other side. He had once ordered his sixty men
to halt when a few steps farther with his eight horsemen,

(18:07):
and then ordered them in their turn to stop and
advanced alone toward the bridge. Lalanda had acted in the
same manner with regard to his dragoons and officers, and
now dismounting, came toward Cavalier. The two met in the
middle of the bridge and saluted with the courtesy of
men who had learned to esteem each other on the
field of battle. Then, after a short silence during which

(18:28):
they examined each other, Laalanda spoke, Sir, said he the
king in his clemency desires to put an end to
the war which is going on between his subjects, and
which can only result in the ruin of his kingdom.
As he knows that this war has been instigated and
supported by the enemies of France. He hopes to meet
no opposition to his wishes among those of his subjects

(18:52):
who were momentarily led astray. But to whom he now
offers pardon, Sir, answered Cavalier, the war not having been
begun by the Protestants. They are always ready for peace,
but a real peace without restriction or reserve. They have
no right, I know to lay down conditions, but I
hope they will be permitted to discuss those which may

(19:14):
be laid down for them. Speak openly, sir, and let
me know what the offers are that you have been
authorized to make to us, that I may judge if
we can accept them. But how would it be, said Lelanda,
if you were mistaken, and if the king desired to
know what conditions you would consider reasonable. If that is so,
answered Cavalier, I will tell you our conditions at once,

(19:37):
in order not to prolong the negotiations. For every minute delay,
as you know, costs someone his life or fortune. Then
tell me what your conditions are returned Lalanda well, said Cavalier.
Our demands are three. First, liberty of conscience. Secondly, the
release of all prisoners who have been condemned to imprisonment

(19:58):
or the galleys because of their religion. And thirdly that
if we are not granted liberty of conscience, we may
be at least permitted to leave the kingdom, as far
as I can judge, replied the Landa, I do not
believe that the King will accept the first proposition, but
it is possible that he may accede to the third.
In that case, how many Protestants would you take with you?

(20:21):
Ten thousand, of all ages and both sexes. The number
is excessive, Sir, I believe that his Majesty is not
disposed to go beyond three thousand, then replied Cavalier. There
is nothing more to be said, for I could not
accept passports for any smaller number than I could accept
for the ten thousand, only on condition that the King

(20:43):
would grant us three months in which to dispose of
our possessions and withdraw from the country without being molested.
Should his Majesty, however, not be pleased to allow us
to leave the kingdom. Then we beg that our edicts
be re enacted and our privileges restored, whereupon we shall
become once more what we were formerly His Majesty's loyal

(21:04):
and obedient servants. Sir said Lalande, I shall lay your
conditions before Monsieur la Marechal, and if no satisfactory conclusion
can be arrived at, it will be to me a
matter of profound regret. And now, Sir, will you permit
me to inspect more closely the gallant men with whose
help you have done such astounding deeds. Cavalier smiled. For

(21:27):
these gallant men, when caught had been broken on the wheel,
burnt at the stake, or hanged like brigands, His sole
answer was an inclination of the head. As he turned
and led the way to his little escort. Monsieur de
Lalande followed him with perfect confidence. Then, passing by the
eight horsemen who were grouped on the road, he walked
up to the infantry, and, taking out of his pocket

(21:49):
a handful of gold, he scattered it before them, saying, there,
my men, that is to drink the King's health with
not a man stooped to pick up the money, and
one of them said, shaking his head, it is not
money we want, but liberty of conscience. My men, answered Lalande.
It is unfortunately not in my power to grant your demand,

(22:11):
but I advise you to submit to the King's will
and trust in his clemency. Sir, answered Cavalier. We are
all ready to obey him, provided that he graciously grant
us our just demands. If not, we shall die weapon
in hand, rather than expose ourselves once more to such
outrages as have already been inflicted on us. Your demands

(22:33):
shall be transmitted word for word to Monsieur de Villar,
who will lay them before the King, says Lalande, and
you may be sure, sir, that my most sincere wish
is that his Majesty may not find them exorbitant. With
these words, Monsieur de Laalanda saluted Cavalier and turned to
rejoin his escort, but Cavalier, wishing to return confidence with confidence,

(22:56):
crossed the bridge with him and accompanied the general to
where his soldiers had hauled there. With another salute, the
two chiefs parted, Monsieur de Laalanda taking the road to Uza,
while Cavalier rejoined his comrades. Meantime, Daglieres, who as we
have seen, had not left Uza until the fifth of
May in order to join Cavalier, did not come up

(23:18):
with him until the thirteenth, that is to say, the
day after his conference with Lalanda. Daglieres gives us an
account of their interview, and we cannot do better than
quote it. Although it was the first time that we
had met face to face, we embraced each other as
if we were old acquaintances. My little band mixed with
his and sang psalms together while Cavalier and I talked.

(23:41):
I was very much pleased with what he said, and
convinced him without difficulty that he should submit for the
sake of the brethren, who could then choose whichever course
best suited them, and either leave the kingdom or serve
the king. I said that I believed the last course
to be the best, provided we were allowed to worship
God according to our consciences, because I hoped that seeing

(24:03):
their faithful service, his Majesty would recognize that he had
been imposed upon by those who had described us as
disloyal subjects, and that we should thus obtain for the
whole nation that liberty of conscience which had been granted
to us. That in no other way, as far as
I could see, could our deplorable condition be ameliorated. For
although Cavalier and his men might be able to exist

(24:25):
for some time longer in the forests and mountains, they
would never be strong enough to save the inhabitants of
towns and other enclosed places from perishing. Upon this, he
replied that although the Catholics seldom kept a promise made
to those of our religion, he was willing to risk
his life for the welfare of his brethren and the province,
but that he trusted if he confided in the clemency

(24:48):
of the king, for whom he had never ceased to pray,
no harm would happen to him. Thereupon, Daglieres, delighted to
find him so well inclined, begged him to give him
a letter for Monsieur de Villar, And, as Cavalier knew
the Marechal to be loyal and zealous and had great
confidence in him, he wrote, without hesitation the following letter, Monseigneur,

(25:11):
permit me to address your excellency in order to beg
humbly for the favor of your protection. For myself and
for my soldiers. We are filled with the most ardent
desire to repair the fault which we have committed by
bearing arms, not against the King, as our enemies have
so falsely asserted, but to defend our lives against those
who persecuted us, attacking us so fiercely that we believed

(25:34):
it was done by order of his majesty. We know
that it was written by Saint Paul that subjects ought
to submit themselves to their king. And if, in spite
of these sincere protestations, our sovereign should still demand our blood,
we shall soon be ready to throw ourselves on his
justice or his mercy. But we should, Monseigneur, regard ourselves

(25:55):
as happy if his Majesty, moved by our repentance, would
grant us his pardon and receive us into his service.
According to the example of the God of mercy, whose
representative his Majesty is on earth, we trust, Monseigneur, by
our faithfulness and zeal to acquire the honor of your protection.
Then we glory in the thought of being permitted under

(26:16):
the command of such an illustrious and noble minded general
as yourself, to shed our blood for the king. This
being so, I hope that your excellency will be pleased
to allow me to inscribe myself with profound respect and humility, Monseigneur,
your most humble and obedient servant. Cavalier Dagliere, as soon

(26:37):
as he got possession of this letter, set out for
Nimes in the best of spirits, for he felt sure
that he was bringing Monsieur de Villar more than he
had expected. And indeed, as soon as the Marechal saw
how far things had gone in spite of everything that
Laalanda could say, who, in his jealousy, asserted that Daglieres
would spoil everything, he sent him back to Cavalier with

(27:00):
an invitation to come to Nimes. Dagliere set out at once,
promising to bring the young chief back with him, at
which Laalanda laughed loudly, pretending to be very much amused
at the baron's confident way of speaking, and protesting that
Cavalier would not come. In the meantime, events were happening
in the mountains which might easily have changed the state

(27:21):
of mind of the young chief. The Comte de Tournaans
who was in command at Flora, had encountered Roland's army
in the plain of font Mort and had lost two
hundred men, a considerable sum of money, and eighty mules
loaded with provisions. The anxiety which this news caused to
Monsieur de Villar was soon relieved, for six days after

(27:42):
the defeat he received a letter from Cavalier by the
hands of la Combe, the same who had brought about
the interview on the bridge of Avenna. In this letter,
Cavalier expressed the greatest regret for what had just happened.
Dagliere therefore found Cavalier in the best of humors when
he joined him at Tarnac. The first feeling that the
young chief felt on receiving the invitation was one of stupefaction,

(28:06):
for an interview with the Mareschal was in honor so
unexpected and so great that his impression was that some
treason lay behind it. But he was soon reassured when
he recalled the character for loyalty which the Marechal bore,
and how impossible it was that Dagliere should lend himself
to treachery. So Cavalier sent back word that he would

(28:26):
obey the Mareschal's orders, and that he put himself entirely
into his hands in what concerned the arrangements for the interview.
Monsieur de Villars let him know that he would expect
him on the sixteenth in the garden of the convent
of the Recollet of Nimes, which lay just outside the city,
between the gates of Beaucaire and the Madeleine, and that

(28:47):
Lalando would meet him beyond Carrerac to receive him and
to bring him hostages. End of Chapter three, Section two.
Reading by John Vanstan Savant at Georgia