The confederate, knowing how greatly success depended upon prompt action, spent but few moments in deliberation. Their first step must be to secure some strong town, in which they could make a safe stand until reinforcements arrived. For obvious strategical and political reasons they selected Orleans, and thitherward, to the number of two thousand, they turned their horses’ heads. As the delay of even a few minutes might be dangerous, they rode on like a fierce whirlwind, not stopping to pick up any one who fell on the road. Once in Orleans, which they entered on the 2d April, 1562, they sent secret orders to their co-religionists all over France, and their first measures were crowned with success. Almost on the same day the Huguenots made themselves masters of Havre, Rouen, Caen, and Dieppe in Normandy; Blois, Tours, and Angers on the Loire; Poitiers and Rochelle in Poitou; Chalons and Troyes in Champagne; Macon in Burgundy; Gap and Grenoble in Dauphiny; and Nismes, Montpellier, Béziers, and Montauban in Languedoc; as well as a large number of castles in the north, west, and south, with the Cevennes district between Lyons and Toulouse. From all these quarters the best gentlemen in France rallied round Condé in defense of the rights of their body and the princes of the blood-royal against the usurpation and violence of the Guises, who were foreigners. Many of them were related to Condé: the three Chatillons were the uncles of his wife; Prince Porcien the husband of his niece; La Rochefoucault had married his sister-in-law. Viscount Rohan represented the nobles of Dauphiny; Andelot the Pays de France; the Count of Grammont led the Gascons; Montgomery the Normans; and Genlis the sober and industrious Picards. Their first step was to sign a Covenant of Association, binding them to spend their goods and their lives in restoring the king to liberty, and procuring freedom of worship to all Frenchmen. They necessarily made Condé their leader, and then sent off letters (7th May) to all the churches, desiring them “in God’s name” to furnish both men and money. “We have taken up arms,” said the confederates, “that we may deliver the King and Queen from the hands of their enemies, and secure the full execution of the Edict of January.” Condé also thought it his duty to dispatch a messenger to the queen-mother, with an explanation of the motives which had driven him to such extreme measures. Catherine would not commit herself to a written answer, but desired the Baron de la Garde to tell the Prince, “that she would never forget what he might do for the king her son.”