of his file by daubing the bars with mud and wax, and withdrew. For
three consecutive nights he returned to his task, taking the same
precautions, and before the fourth was at an end he found that by means
of a slight effort the grating could be removed. That was all that was
needed, so he gave notice to Messire Nicolas de Calviere that the moment
had arrived.

Everything was favourable to the undertaking: as there was no moon, the
next night was chosen to carry out the plan, and as soon as it was dark
Messire Nicolas de Calviere set out with his men, who, slipping down into
the moat without noise, crossed, the water being up to their belts,
climbed up the other side, and crept along at the foot of the wall till
they reached the grating without being perceived. There Maduron was
waiting, and as soon as he caught sight of them he gave a slight blow to
the loose bars; which fell, and the whole party entered the drain, led by
de Calviere, and soon found themselves at the farther end--that is to
say, in the Place de la Fontaine. They immediately formed into companies
twenty strong, four of which hastened to the principal gates, while the
others patrolled the streets shouting, "The city taken! Down with the
Papists! A new world!" Hearing this, the Protestants in the city
recognised their co-religionists, and the Catholics their opponents: but
whereas the former had been warned and were on the alert, the latter were
taken by surprise; consequently they offered no resistance, which,
however, did not prevent bloodshed. M. de St. Andre, the governor of the
town, who during his short period of office had drawn the bitter hatred
of the Protestants on him, was shot dead in his bed, and his body being
flung out of the window, was torn in pieces by the populace. The work of
murder went on all night, and on the morrow the victors in their turn
began an organised persecution, which fell more heavily on the Catholics
than that to which they had subjected the Protestants; for, as we have