Condé was much grieved at the Rouen cruelties, particularly with the hanging of Marlorat and others, and ordered three persons to be hanged in retaliation.[317] The army, also, was so exasperated, that they massacred all the priests they found in Pluviers; and when the Catholics contended that the king might hang his rebellious subjects, they replied that “his name shrouded other men’s malice, wherefore, according to the proverb, they would make _such bread such brewisse_.” The prince’s jest is well known: “Our enemies have given us two shrewd checks in taking our rooks (meaning Rouen and Bourges), but I hope that now we may catch their knights, if they take the field.” But he was caught himself. The fall of Rouen not only did not restore peace, but the province of Normandy became more disturbed than ever. Both parties were equally violent, equally unscrupulous. They burned or plundered each other’s houses and farmsteads. The neighborhood of Rouen became a wide waste, and the people were reduced to beggary.[318] The government took advantage of their success to make a display of generosity which, had it been sincere, might have terminated the war. A royal edict promised a full and complete amnesty to all who had taken up arms, on condition that they ceased to attend Protestant sermons, and conformed outwardly to Catholicism. The numerous exceptions to this act of grace included the heads of the party, persons notoriously seditious, and such as had profaned the churches. A few gentlemen accepted these terms, but the vast majority saw that the edict was a mere trick to separate the army from its leaders.