"Alas!" said Coligny, "we should rather pity them,—these poor fools who are ambitious of nothing, these wretched, blinded Papists. But," he continued, "I forget that I am not speaking to one of my brothers in religious matters. Never mind, Gabriel; you are worthy of being one of us, and you will come to us sooner or later. Yes; God, in whose hands all means are holy, will lead you to the right, I foresee, through this very passion; and this unequal conflict in which your love will cause you to hurl yourself against a corrupt court will end in bringing you into our ranks some day. I shall be happy to sow in your breast, my friend, the first seeds of the divine harvest."
"I knew, Monsieur l'Amiral," said Gabriel, "that you were of the Reformed religion; and that very fact has led me to esteem the persecuted sect. Nevertheless, you see, I am weak in mind, being feeble in heart; and I am sure that I shall always profess the same religion that Diane does."
"Oh, well!" said Gaspard, in whom, as in most of his sect, the fever of proselytism was at its height,—"oh, well! if Madame de Castro is of the religion of virtue and truth, she is of our faith, and so will you be, Gabriel. So will you be, I say again, because that dissolute court, rash youth, against which you are taking up arms, will overcome you; and you will burn to be revenged. Do you believe that Monsieur de Montmorency, who has set his heart upon the king's daughter for his son, will consent to give up that rich prize to you?"
"Alas! perhaps I shall not dispute it with him," said Gabriel. "Only let the king remain true to his sworn promise to me—"
"Sworn promise!" exclaimed the admiral. "Do you talk of sworn promises in connection with the man who, after he had commanded the parliament to discuss the question of liberty of conscience freely before him, had Anne Dubourg and Dufaur burned at the stake for having pleaded the cause of the reform, relying upon the royal word?"
"Oh, don't say so, Monsieur l'Amiral!" cried Gabriel. "Don't tell me that King Henri will not keep the solemn promise that he has given me; for in that event not my faith alone would rise in rebellion, but my sword too, I fear: I would not become a Huguenot, but a murderer."
"Not if you become a Huguenot," rejoined Gaspard. "We may be martyrs, but shall never be assassins. But your vengeance, though it be not a bloody one, may be none the less terrible, my friend. You will assist us with your youthful ardor and your zealous devotion in a work of renovation which is likely to be more depressing to the king than a thrust of the sword. Remember, Gabriel, that it is our purpose to wrest from him his iniquitous and monstrous privileges; remember that it is not in the Church alone, but in the government that we are striving to introduce reforms which will be helpful to the worthy, but a menace to the wicked. You have seen whether I love France and serve her. Well, then, I am for these reforms partly because I see in them the true greatness of my country. Oh, Gabriel, Gabriel, if you had but read once the convincing arguments of our Luther, you would see how soon the spirit of investigation and liberty which breathes in them would put a new soul in your body, and open a new life before you."
"My life is my love for Diane," was Gabriel's response; "and my soul is in the sacred task which God has imposed upon me, and which I trust to accomplish."
"The love and the task of a man," said Gaspard, "which may surely be reconciled with the love and the task of a Christian. You are young, and do not see clearly, my friend; but I foresee only too plainly, and my heart bleeds to say it to you, that your eyes will be opened by misfortune. Your generosity and your purity of soul will sooner or later bring grief upon you in that licentious and scandalous court, just as tall trees attract the lightning in a storm. Then you will call to mind what I have said to you to-day. You will learn to know our books,—this one, for instance;" and the admiral took up a volume that was lying open on the table. "You will understand these outspoken and stern, but just and noble words, which are spoken to us by one as young as yourself, a councillor of the Bordeaux parliament, named Étienne de la Boétie. And then you will say, Gabriel, in the words of this vigorous work, 'La Servitude Volontaire': 'What a misfortune, or what a crime it is to see an infinite number of men not obeying, but servilely following,—not being governed, but tyrannized over by one individual, and not by a Hercules or a Samson, but by one little man, generally the most faint-hearted and effeminate in the whole land.'"
"Those are indeed not only dangerous, but bold words, and stimulating to the intellect," said Gabriel. "You are quite right, too, Monsieur l'Amiral; it may be that rage will some day drive me into your ranks, and that oppression will lead me to espouse the cause of the oppressed. But until that time comes, you see, my life is too full to admit these new ideas which you have laid before me; and I have too much to do to leave me time to read books."