Page 32 - 12 The French Reformation

hour, a sermon would be preached, and the

people of every rank and station were invited

to attend. Crowds flocked to the service. Not

only the chapel, but the antechambers and

halls were thronged. Thousands every day

assembled—nobles, statesmen, lawyers,

merchants, and artisans. The king, instead of

forbidding the assemblies, ordered that two

of the churches of Paris should be opened.

Never before had the city been so moved by

the word of God. The spirit of life from

heaven seemed to be breathed upon the

people. Temperance, purity, order, and

industry were taking the place of

drunkenness, licentiousness, strife, and

idleness.

But the hierarchy were not idle. The king still

refused to interfere to stop the preaching,

and they turned to the populace. No means