Chapter XVIII: Appendix

THE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN TO HIS COMPATRIOTS BY JOSHUA JANAVEL, WHO
WAS TOO OLD TO ACCOMPANY THEM ON THEIR ‘GLORIOUS RETURN.’

The Lord not permitting me, to my great sorrow, by reason of my infirmity, to follow you, I considered it my duty to neglect nothing for the good of my poor country: therefore I give you in writing my ideas as to the course you should take on the way, and in your engagements and attacks, if the Lord mercifully bring you to your mountains, as I hope, and I pray God with all my heart that He may prosper everything to His glory and the re-establishment of His Church. I beg you, therefore, to take in good part the contents of this letter.

If our Church has been reduced to such an extremity, our sin is the real cause thereof. We must more and more every day humble ourselves before God, and earnestly crave pardon ... ever having recourse to Him; and when troubles arise be patient, redouble your courage, so that _there may be nothing firmer than your faith_. Therefore doubt not that God will preserve you and accomplish your projects to His glory and the advancement of the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

As soon as you reach the enemy’s territory, you must seize three or four men of the place, wherever you find them: then you must make them march with you from place to place, and when you reach some part where there is danger of alarms, you must send one of these men with one of your own to give notice to the peasants to trouble themselves about nothing, and that you will do them no harm or injury, if only they let you pass.... And if you want anything you must pay them fairly.

You must behave as prudently as possible for the sake of your neighbours, the Swiss Lords, who should be your friends.

Moreover, as to the management of the war, provided that God in His mercy allows you to go whither you desire, you must, every one of you, fall on your knees, raise your eyes and hands to heaven, your heart and soul to the Lord in earnest prayer, that He will give you His Spirit, and enable you to choose the most capable amongst you to lead the others.

In the evening you must all gather together to offer prayer to God. You must place numerous sentinels, using the most timorous of your soldiers for the evening and throughout the night, and the boldest and most expert towards daylight.

When you see the enemy approaching, let them draw as near as possible: fire at first upon the officers, make no ill-timed discharge, and be prompt in re-charging your arms, and, if possible, have bullets which exactly fit the bore of the gun, to ensure straight firing.

When you pursue or make a search for the enemy, put soldiers in the field to attack the flanks of the troops, but never allow the head to advance without notice from the flank; in this way you will all be safe, and Christ’s Church also, _provided you be faithful Christians_.

In every encounter take great care to spare innocent or useless blood, so as not to have to answer for it before God; and, above all, be not overcome by fear or by anger; then will the sword of the Lord, as well as His grace, be with you, and he who trusts in the living God shall never perish.

Whoever passes over to the enemy, unless he be taken prisoner arms in hand, must be punished with death. He shall have the liberty of choosing the persons by whom he is to be shot.

Sentence of death must be passed upon anyone who remains on the field of battle to plunder the enemy before orders from the captain.

After the first battle it is desirable that your officers change clothes with the more poorly clad members of their company. While on the march there is no need to grant any quarter to prisoners.

Trust neither the letters nor the words of the enemy: and it is when they desire to confer that you must be most on your guard.

When you make an attack you must have ambuscades in the flank, and after making an advance you must fall back, so that the enemy may pursue you; when the engagement occurs in the ambuscades, you must face about, and so you will make many dead and wounded, for _such are the fruits of war_.

Spare converted families (_catholisées_), for otherwise God would be grieved.

If God grant that you reach your mountains, which I hope, you must first know where your place of retreat is to be. If you are only six or seven hundred strong, you must attack simultaneously the Valley of Luserna and the Valley of St. Martin; but first fix your retreat, which should be in the Valley of St. Martin, the _Balciglia_, and in the Valley of Luserna, _Balmadaut_, _l’Aiguille_, and _La Combe de Giausarand_, which was the ancient retreat of our fathers.

Always keep sentinels on the tops of the mountains, so as not to be surprised from the Pragela side, and keep the passes clear from one valley to the other. On the Col Julien place a guard composed of men from each valley--half from one, half from the other.

As for you others of the _Balciglia_, he continues, you are all men of strength and used to toil; therefore spare no pains in well fortifying this point, which will be a very strong retreat for you.

In case you are attacked by a large number of troops, you must withdraw altogether to the most convenient places, such as _Balmadaut_, _Sarcena_, _La Combe de Giausarand_, and _l’Aiguille_; but leave the _Balciglia only at the last extremity_. They will not fail to tell you that you cannot hold out for ever, and that all France and Italy will turn upon you rather than you should succeed; but _say that you fear nothing, not even death, and that if the whole world were against you, and you alone against the whole world, you fear only the Almighty who is your Protector_.

To regain possession of your valleys, he says, you must first seize that of St. Martin. To make a successful attack, you must form three companies,--one to occupy the mountain tops, the second to keep the Bridge of the Tour (near Pomaret), and the third must be divided into two, to invest Perrier. It is very necessary to take Perrier, as otherwise no assistance or retreat is possible without discovery.

As to the Valley of Luserna, the highest mountain must be reached, and promptness must be exercised in sending half of the soldiers down the rivers to cut the bridges, then to stand their ground in planting ambushes in suitable and narrow places. The Bridge of Subiasq must be strongly guarded, to prevent the carrying off of cattle and provisions.

As to the town of Bobbio, I do not believe that the enemy will encamp there. As to Villar, I will tell you by word of mouth what I think. I will not commit it to writing. Tour must be invested at night, and completely surrounded by fires, so that the smoke may serve as a screen from the fire of the fort. As to St. Jean and Angrogna, I cannot tell you all the plans proposed, and therefore you must act according to circumstances.

As soon as you have entered the valleys you must put up the ministers, doctors, and wounded in the Serre-de-Cruel, and when the town of Bobbio is taken they should withdraw to Sarcena; and when Villar is taken, they should go to Pertuzel, and when Tour is taken to Rua-de-Bonnet or to Taillaret. Finally, when Pramol, Angrogna, and Rocheplatte are taken, they must be removed to Pra-du-Tor, whence they will bestow their care and good advice upon the people of both valleys.

W. RIDER, AND SON, PRINTERS, LONDON.

Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:

1867, James II. was on the English throne=> 1687, James II. was on the English throne {pg 81}

those whe loved her=> those who loved her {pg 142}