The Genevan and the Friburger immediately set off together to the chief of these ‘abbeys’ or clubs. They had scarcely entered the hall, when Marty in some confusion whispered into his companion’s ear: ‘Some of the duke’s pensioners are here; veil your meaning, for fear they should stop our work.’ Berthelier took the hint, and, rendered cautious by the presence of his enemies, spoke in ambiguous language, concealing his thoughts, but in such a manner that they might be guessed. He spoke of the wars that Burgundy had waged against Switzerland and of Charles the Bold; he intended thus to remind them of the war Savoy was now making upon Geneva and of Charles _the Good_. He hinted that the Swiss ought to distrust the Duke of Savoy, however smiling the face he showed them. Had they not spoiled his country during the Burgundian wars, and did they not still occupy a part of it? ‘Your ancestors,’ said Berthelier, ‘have plundered and ravaged certain provinces--you know which--and in any case _others_ do not forget it.... If _somebody_ should become master of Geneva, he would fortify it against you ... but if Geneva became your ally, you could make it your rampart against all princes and potentates.’ Every one knew of whom Berthelier was speaking. But if he saw the angry eye of some pensioner of Savoy fixed upon him, he became more guarded, his language more figurative and interrupted; he spoke lower, and ‘as if at random,’ said Bonivard. Then remembering Geneva, his courage revived, and his energetic accents burst forth again in the council of Friburg. He then forgot all prudence, and made, says the chronicler, a great _lament_ of the oppression under which the city groaned. This speech, which aroused violent storms, was not to remain useless: Berthelier’s eloquent words were fruitful thoughts, cast into the hearts of the people of Friburg. Like those seeds which, borne by the tempest, fall here and there among the Alps, they were destined one day to revive in Geneva the ancient tree of her liberties.[118]