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318 proved matter of death, or at least long imprisonment; but He, who blows upon the schemes of the wicked, and baffles all their designs, had so contrived it that the witnesses should mistake the date of the time that he preached, and the substance of the prayer, insomuch that he was released, to the great satisfaction of his friends.

Alas! his sorrows for this time did not end here, but rather this was the beginning of woe. During his confinement, which had lasted nearly a year, his flock had either been vanquished or scattered, there was scarcely any footsteps of them to be traced. The persecution grew warmer and sharper, and whosoever would not bow the knee before Baal was cast into prison, where soul and body were kept together merely that they might endure the torment of a thousand deaths. The faggot and sword, the wheel and the galleys, were employed in making converts to that monstrous church.

There, O Rome! did thy emissaries glut themselves with the spoils of the innocent, and wallowed in the blood of the guiltless; there, if ever, wert thou satiated with cruelty and revenge. At that time our father, with his beloved and much-lamented consort, our dear mother, was obliged to flee for safety. They left friends and relatives, brothers and sisters, lands and houses, and all they held dear, for the sake of Him who once laid down his life for them. Human nature is incapable of more glorious conduct than theirs, which could have been carried to no higher degree of perfection, unless God had required them to seal their faith with their blood. Such actions are above the conception and envy of the mean part of mankind, and can fire none but the most generous souls. It