It was nearly a month before the news reached England. A cry of horror
went through the country, and Cromwell said it came "as near his
heart as if his own nearest and dearest had been concerned." A day
of humiliation was appointed, large collections were made for the
sufferers, and a special envoy was despatched to remonstrate with the
Duke of Savoy. Cardinal Mazarin, however, seeing the importance which
the Lord Protector would acquire by taking the lead on this occasion,
stepped in, and patched up a hasty arrangement, the treaty of
Pignerol, by which some sort of fallacious protection was ostensibly
secured to the survivors of the massacre.
All the despatches in this business were composed by Milton. But he
only found the words; especially in the letter to the Duke of Savoy,
the tone of which is much more moderate than we should have expected,
considering that Blake was in the Mediterranean, and master of the
coasts of the Duke's dominions. It is impossible to extract from these
letters any characteristic trait, unless it is from the speech, which
the envoy, Morland, was instructed to deliver at Turin, in which it is
said that all the Neros of all ages had never contrived inhumanities
so atrocious, as what had taken place in the Vaudois valleys.
Pages:
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190