Very different was the position of the young man who tried to undo all that Louis XIV., under the influence of his mistress De Maintenon, and his Jesuit confessor, Père la Chase,[52] had been trying all his life to accomplish. He was an intelligent youth, the son of Huguenot parents in Viverais, of comparatively poor and humble condition. He was, however, full of energy, activity, and a zealous disposition for work. Observing the tendency which Protestantism had, while bereft of its pastors, to run into gloomy forms of fanaticism, Antoine Court conceived the idea of reviving the pastorate, and restoring the proscribed Protestant Church of France. It was a bold idea, but the result proved that Antoine Court was justified in entertaining it. [Footnote 52: Amongst the many satires and epigrams with which Louis XIV. was pursued to the grave, the following epitaph may be given:-- "Ci gist le mari de Thérèse De la Montespan le Mignon, L'esclave de la Maintenon, Le valet du père La Chaise." At the death of Louis XIV., Voltaire, an _élève_ of the Jesuits, was appropriately coming into notice. At the age of about twenty he was thrown into the Bastille; for having written a satire on Louis XIV., of which the following is an extract:-- "J'ai vu sous l'habit d'une femme Un démon nous donner la loi; Elle sacrifia son Dieu, sa foi, son âme, Pour séduire l'esprit d'un trop crédule roi. * * * * * J'ai vu l'hypocrite honoré: J'ai vu, c'est dire tout, le jésuite adoré: J'ai vu ces maux sous le règne funeste D'un prince que jadis la colère céleste Accorda, par vengeance, à nos désirs ardens: J'ai vu ces maux, et je n'ai pas vingt ans." Voltaire denied having written this satire.] Louis XIV. died in August, 1715. During that very month, Court summoned together a small number of Huguenots to consider his suggestions. The meeting was held at daybreak, in an empty quarry near Nismes, which has already been mentioned in the course of this history. But it may here be necessary to inform the reader of the early life of this enthusiastic young man. Antoine Court was born at Villeneuve de Berg, in Viverais, in the year 1696. Religious persecution was then at its height; assemblies were vigorously put down; and all pastors taken prisoners were hanged on the Peyrou at Montpellier. Court was only four years old when his father died, and his mother resolved, if the boy lived, to train him up so that he might consecrate himself to the service of God. He was still very young while the Camisard war was in progress, but he heard a great deal about it, and vividly remembered all that he heard.