'You will certainly receive some mule loads of good and salable merchandise, and they will be there one of these days.
'Pierre Croquet.'[676]
The letter was handed to Maigrot the Magnificent. ''Tis good,' he said, 'salvation comes to us from France.'
=VOLUNTEERS FROM FRANCE.=
At that moment certain evolutions were taking place in the policy of the great powers of Europe, which might favor the deliverance of Geneva. 'If you desire Milan, take Turin,' said the crafty Clement VII. to the king of France. As Sforza, the last duke of Milan, was dead, Francis I., in order to follow up the pontiff's advice, had to seek some kind of pretext for declaring war against his uncle, the duke of Savoy. There was one which presented itself quite naturally. 'Charles IV. oppresses Geneva,' said some. 'Let France oppose his laying hands on it, and war will be certain.' Francis I., who was then at Lyons and negotiating with Charles V., saw that he could not support Geneva openly; but permitted the Sieur de Vérey, a French nobleman, to raise a troop of volunteers. Men, charmed with the new liberties, flocked with enthusiasm to his banners. Many printers in particular joined the band. The printers in those times remarked that the Reformation produced not only authors who wrote for the people, but a people who read their books with eagerness; and accordingly they were ready to fight for it. Francis I. was not content to look on, but gave Vérey the company of Jean Paoli, son of the Sieur de Ceri, the old captain of the Roman bands, consisting of 'excellent cavalry and valiant personages.'[677]
Meanwhile the city was going to ruin: there was no money to pay the soldiers. What was to be done? In many old houses Genevan coins were found, bearing the sun as a symbol with this device—Post tenebras spero lucem.[678] These pieces proved that the city of Geneva had once possessed the right of coining money—a right of which the prince-bishops had deprived her. Claude Savoye received instructions to issue a new coinage, and was forthwith supplied with silver crosses, chalices, patens, and other sacred utensils. The coins he struck bore on one side the key and eagle (the arms of Geneva), with the legend, Deus noster pugnat pro nobis, 1535, 'Our God fighteth for us;' and on the reverse, Geneva civitas. The following year another coinage was issued which, in addition to the ordinary device, Post tenebras lucem, bore these words of Isaiah and St. Paul, Mihi sese flectet omne genu, 'Unto me every knee shall bow,' the monogram of Jesus, I. H. S., being in the centre. Geneva did not believe in its own victory only, but in the victory of God, whose glory, hidden until then, would be magnified among all nations.
=CONFERENCE AT AOSTA.=
While Francis I. was stealthily aiding Geneva, the powerful republic of Berne was negotiating in its favor. Some of its statesmen crossed the Saint-Bernard on their way to the town of Aosta, where the duke of Savoy was to meet them. Berthold Haller, the reformer, and the other Bernese pastors, had gone in a body to the council and conjured them to make an appeal to the people for the deliverance of Geneva. 'They are ready,' said the ministers, 'to sacrifice their goods and their lives to uphold the Reformation in that city.' The lords of Berne, desirous of taking at least one step, sent a deputation to the duke, and commissioned their general, Francis Nägueli, who was at its head, to support the cause of Geneva. Son of one of the most distinguished chiefs of the Swiss bands, Francis had grown up in the camp, and like Wildermuth, had made his first campaign in the wars of Italy in 1511. 'He was a man at twenty,' people said. His features bronzed by a southern sun presented a mixture of energy, acuteness, and antique grandeur, and the Christian piety by which he was animated imparted to them a great charm.[679] P. d'Erlach, Rodolph of Diesbach, and the chancellor P. Zyro accompanied him. Crossing the mountains with difficulty—it was in the latter half of November—and braving rain, cold, and snow,[680] the ambassadors arrived at last at the city of Aosta. The duke was not there; they were invited to push on to Turin, but the lords of Berne replied that they would wait for the duke at the foot of the glaciers. The Bernese and their suite took advantage of this delay to enter into conversation with the inhabitants, and spoke to them fearlessly of Holy Scripture and the usurpations of the Roman bishop.
At last Charles III. arrived and the conference was opened. 'First of all,' said the Bernese, 'we require you to leave the citizens of Geneva at liberty to obey the Word of God, as the supreme authority of faith.' The duke, surrounded by the servants of Rome and urged particularly by Gazzini, bishop of Aosta, declared that he could not concede their demand without the consent of the emperor, the permission of the pope, and the decision of a general council. 'I ask you once more,' said Nägueli, 'to leave the Genevans free to profess their faith.' 'Their faith,' ejaculated Charles, 'what is their faith?' 'There are Bibles enough, I think, in Savoy,' answered Nägueli; 'read them, and you will discover their faith.' The duke asked for a truce of five or six months to come to an understanding on the matter with the emperor and the pope. The ambassadors, recrossing the snows of those lofty mountains, returned to Berne and made their report.[681]
During this time the Savoyard troops had drawn closer round Geneva, and on the 7th of December had attacked the city. Rodolph Nägueli, the general's brother, communicated to the council the offer made by Charles III. of a five months' truce. But the Genevese replied: 'How can the duke observe a truce of five months, when he cannot keep one of twenty days? He makes the proposal in order to starve us out. We will negotiate no more with him, except at the sword's point. All delays are war to us. Give us your assistance, honored lords. We ask it not only in the name of our alliances, but in the name of the love you owe to your poor brethren in Christ. Do what you may, the hour is come, and our God will fight for us.' The herald was sent through the city, ordering every citizen to get his arms ready and to muster round their captains.[682]