"Did he ever get any
more money?"
"He had a strange life," mused Mr. Croyden. "He was a Huguenot, and
at that time the Catholic party was in power, and an edict went forth
that all Huguenots should be killed. Many of them fled into other
countries and thus escaped death. But Palissy refused to flee, and
because he was a man skilled in pottery-making, one of the things
France was eager to perfect, the king wanted to retain him in his
kingdom. Therefore he took Palissy under his protection, and for a
long time allowed him to work unmolested in a little building in the
grounds of the Tuileries. But by and by the Catholic adherents of the
king became too strong even for their royal master's control, and so
insistently did they clamor for Palissy's death that the king was
forced to send for the potter and beg him to renounce his Protestant
faith. Now by this time Palissy was a white-haired man of
eighty. Nevertheless when the king told him he must either recant or
lose his life he did not flinch. Fearlessly he clung to his religion."
"Did they kill him?"
"No. Perhaps it was because the people did not dare displease the
king," answered Mr. Croyden.
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