Ship Full o' Pirates

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This Post is written By: Hank/ Calico Zak

A few days ago I finished reading this book about John Calvin by Douglas Bond.

This book is probably one of his best, and resembles The Guns of the Lion and Hostage Lands.

The main character, Jean-Louis Moulin, is a tanner’s son who grows up in the same town and goes to the same school as Calvin.  Early in his relationship  with John Calvin,  Jean begins to hold a grudge against him for possessing a far better knowledge of things than he and begins to spy on Calvin at the age of twelve.  A few years latter a plague comes from the east carried on the backs of rats.  Pestilence ravages France and the town of Noyon where Calvin and Moulin reside.  The plague claims millions of souls including Jean’s mother, sister and the girl he loves, making him pitiless and self centered.

While meandering through the forrest Jean trips over a victim of the plague, who unbenounced to him has a royal commission, but all Jean sees is fine clothes and a purse full of gold.

Calvin who has been selected to be a priest is fleeing from Noyon to Paris via carriage.  While Calvin’s carriage stops for minor repairs Jean crawls under it and grabs hold of it.

When they arrive in Paris Jean-Louis disappears into the crowd, a special talent that he has acquired, and returns to Calvin’s side and pretends to be a luggage boy and carries his luggage to Calvin’s residence.  While doing so Jean muses to himself how he has grown broad while Calvin seems to have gotten smaller if anything.  After awhile Calvin recognizes Jean-Louis and offers him a job as his servant.  Moulin accepts the offer and soon comes to like it though he regularly reads  Calvin’s  mail, visits wine shops and attends houses of ill-dispute.

In time Jean finds out that a piece of the clothing he salvaged from the dead man has writing on it. It is a royal commision for one Maurice De Picard to report to his majesty King Francis any conspiriters against the “Holy” Roman Church or teachers of the new learning (Reformed Theology) and in return would be granted large sums of gold.

A few months latter he starts turning in Reformers for gold without Calvin suspecting anything.  But this did not sate his commissioners lust for blood. Eventually Jean turns in Calvin himself.   While waiting for the guards to come and arrest Calvin, Jean starts reading a bible translated into french.

He reads: ” Truly, I say unto you one of you will betray me”  Jean hesitates but still reads on further down the page “Judas came out, one  of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs..”

Calvin returned home and notices Jean had been reading the Bible and that he was rather pail.  When Calvin inquires why he looked so sickly he did not respond and thought it must have been the scriptures themselves that had moved him and implores him to read them more often.  After Calvin finishes and Jean tells him they must fly and that there is no time for him to even explain why he knows but that the king is after his head.

There is much more to this book than I can describe and this being only half the book so you will have to buy it and see for yourself.  It is probably one of the best books Vision Forum carries.

P.S.:  The most interesting  part of the book is probably the last chapter.

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