Timothe Bright, doctor of phisicke : a memoir of "the father of modern shorthand" / by William J. Carlton.

  • Carlton, William J. (William John), 1886-1973.
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Timothe Bright, doctor of phisicke : a memoir of "the father of modern shorthand" / by William J. Carlton. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    teene yeeres passed : yet (as euer it will bee) fresh with mee in memory : hath alwaies since bound me, with all the bondes of duetie, and seruice vnto your honour. The benefite as it was common to many, (for your H[onour’s] house at that time, was a very sanctuarie, not only for all of our nation, but euen to many strangers, then in perill, and vertuously disposed) so was it therfore, the more memorable, & far more honorable : and bindeth me with streighter obligation of dutie, and thankfulnes : who thereby had cause to reioyce, not only for mine owne safetie, but for so many of my coutrie-men, partly of acquaintance, and partly of noble houses of this Realme : who had all tasted of the rage of that furious Tragedy, had not your honour shrowded them : and nowe are witnesses with mee of that right noble acte, and companions of like obligation.” There can be no doubt that, had it not been for the protection afforded to the English Embassy by order of Charles IX., nothing could have saved Bright and his companions from a dreadful fate. Even as it was, two or three Englishmen are said to have fallen in conse- quence of receiving the warning too late. From this haven of refuge he must have witnessed those scenes of horror which have left such a black blot on the history of the French nation, and they impressed themselves in delibly on his memory. For seven days the ghastly work of slaughtering the Huguenots was continued in Paris, on the first three especially with relentless fury. The Seine became a veritable river of blood, and at one time appeared likely to become choked with corpses. In the capital alone 2,000 are believed to have perished on the first day of the massacre, while the total number of victims is variously estimated in figures ranging from