sufferings they had endured through a long period of domestic and foreign wars, should not be disturbed on account of the pretended Reformed religion, as it had happened during the reigns of the Kings his predecessors, endeavored by his Edict given at Nantes in the month of April, 1598, to make regulations with respect to those of said religion, the places where the exercise of said religion might be allowed; He also appointed Judges Extraordinary to administer justice on their behalf, and at length he even provided secret articles containing all that he deemed necessary for the maintenance of tranquillity in his Kingdom and lessening the hatred existing between those of the two religions, in order to place himself in a more advantageous position for laboring, as he had resolved he would, to re-unite to the Church those who had been so easily detached from it. And, as the intention of the King our Grandsire could not be carried out effectually on account of his untimely death, and that even during the minority of the deceased King, our much honored Lord and Father, of glorious memory, the execution of the Edict was interrupted by new enterprises of those of the pretended Reformed religion, which gave occasion to deprive them of various privileges which had been granted by the said Edict: nevertheless, the King, our said deceased Lord and Father, displaying his accustomed clemency, granted them yet another Edict at Nimes, in the month of July, 1629, by means of which, tranquillity having been re-established once more, the said King, animated by the same spirit and zeal for religion that had filled the breast of the King, our said Grandsire, resolved to profit by this repose and try to put his pious design in execution, but foreign war broke out a few years later, so that from the year 1635 until the conclusion of the treaty, in the year 1684, with the Princes of Europe, the Kingdom being almost always in a state of agitation, it was impossible for him to do any thing for the benefit of religion but to lessen the number of exercises of those of the pretended Reformed religion, by forbidding whatever he found established contrary to the orders of the Edicts, and by dissolving the Mixed Chambers, whose establishment had only been provisional. God having at last permitted our people to enjoy perfect peace, and relieved us from the care of protecting them against foreign enemies, profiting by this treaty, we are enabled to give our entire attention to finding the best mode of carrying out successfully the intention of the Kings, our said Sire and Grandsire, which subject has occu-
