The Waldness, or the Fall of Rora

Excerpt from The Waldness, or the Fall of Rora: A Lyrical Sketch; With Other Poems
Of all the persecutions endured by the Waldenses, persecutions scarcely equalled in cruelty, repeated from age to age, and lamented alike by Roman Catholic and Protestant historians, there was none which exceeded in atrocity that which took place in the year 1655. For us the memory of it is for ever preserved by Milton's celebrated Sonnet.
The Marquis of Pianessa, commander of the Duke of Savoy's forces, entered the mountain district with a large army, and feigning a wish for conciliation invited deputies to confer with him. These deputies he treated with much kindness; and granted peace on condition of the mountaineers receiving some troops in their villages as a pledge of loyalty. Immediately afterwards he sent into the valleys his lieutenants Mario and Count Christovel, at the same time informing the indignant peasants that those officers had advanced without his orders and would be at once recalled. The valour of the mountaineers and the skill of their leader Gianavello was for a considerable time successful.