From this time there sprung up many caricatures against the Spaniards; but the most ferocious caricature, or rather book of caricatures, of the reign of Louis XIV., came from without, and was directed against the king and his ministers and courtiers. The revocation of the edict of Nantes took place in October, 1685, and was preceded and followed by frightful persecutions of the Protestants, which drove away in thousands the earnest, intelligent, and industrious part of the population of France. They carried with them a deep hatred to their oppressors, and sought refuge especially in the countries most hostile to Louis XIV.--England and Holland. The latter country, where they then enjoyed the greatest freedom of action, soon sent forth numerous satirical books and prints against the French king and his ministers, of which the book just alluded to was one of the most remarkable. It is entitled "Les Heros de la Ligue, ou la Procession Monacale conduite par Louis XIV. pour la Conversion des Protestans de son Royaume," and consists of a series of twenty-four most grotesque faces, intended to represent the ministers and courtiers of the "grand roi" most odious to the Calvinists. It must have provoked their wrath exceedingly. I give one example, and as it is difficult to select, I take the first in the list, which represents William of Fürstemberg, one of the German princes devoted to Louis XIV., who, by his intrigues, had forced him into the archbishopric of Cologne, by which he became an elector of the empire. For many reasons William of Fürstemberg was hated by the French Protestants, but it is not quite clear why he is here represented in the character of one of the low merchants of the Halles. Over the picture, in the original, we read, _Guillaume de Furstemberg, crie, ite, missa est_, and beneath are the four lines:-- _J'ay quitté mon pais pour servir à la France, Soit par ma trahison, soit par ma lacheté; J'ay troublé les états par ma méchanceté, Une abbaye est ma recompense._ [Illustration: _No. 177. William of Fürstemberg._] CHAPTER XXI. EARLY POLITICAL CARICATURE IN ENGLAND.--THE SATIRICAL WRITINGS AND PICTURES OF THE COMMONWEALTH PERIOD.--SATIRES AGAINST THE BISHOPS; BISHOP WILLIAMS.--CARICATURES ON THE CAVALIERS; SIR JOHN SUCKLING.--THE ROARING BOYS; VIOLENCE OF THE ROYALIST SOLDIERS.--CONTEST BETWEEN THE PRESBYTERIANS AND INDEPENDENTS.--GRINDING THE KING'S NOSE.--PLAYING-CARDS USED AS THE MEDIUM FOR CARICATURE; HASELRIGGE AND LAMBERT.--SHROVETIDE.