Doubliess it was some retired the avowal of baptist principles exposed house, or an upper room in which they VOL. XIII.-FOURTH SERIES. B THE BAPTIST MAGAZINE. JANUARY, 1850. THE BAPTIST MARTYRS OF 1575. An Historical Fragment. BY THE REV. BENJAMIN EVANS. EVERY day is throwing new light | them. "We had to forsake our friends," upon the great events of the past. From various causes, we are able to form a more accurate estimate of the transactions of our ancestors than those who immediately succeeded them. We can in spirit mingle with them, and from the increasing light which history is shedding upon the social and moral condition of many of those early brethren in this country "of whom the world was not worthy," we can understand their difficulties, and more fully appreciate the noble triumphs many of them won. In few instances is this more remarkably the case than in that interesting company of Christian sufferers mentioned at the head of this paper. The detail in the pages of our historians is very brief; but, happily, more abundant materials are within our reach. All our writers concur in stating, that those brethren had fled from the Low Countries, to escape the misery to which the avowal of baptist principles exposed VOL. XIII.-FOURTH SERIES. says one of the sufferers, "our country, our possessions, on account of tyranny, and fled as lambs from a wolf; only because of the pure evangelical truth of Christ, and not for uproar's or faction's sake, like those of Munster, whose views are an abomination, of which we have been slanderously accused." Most of them settled in London, with the hope of protection, and for some time pursued their calling in peace. But this was of short continuance. Popery had altered only in name. Its spirit was rampant in episcopal bosoms, and history has given a full record of its fearful deeds. These simple-minded people soon felt its power. They had continued to meet for exhortation and prayer, and sought the edification of one another in the Lord. The morning of the sabbath had dawned, and these devoted servants of Christ sought their accustomed place of worship. Doubtless it was some retired house, or an upper room in which they B met for holy service. What elevated | terror were mingled. The episcopal feelings would animate them! What smile was first exhausted, and then came the terrible frown. These sturdy confessors were assured that their recantation would have the most healthful influence upon the state of their souls, and be hailed as a special token of God's great goodness by the whole church; whilst the alternative in this world would be banishment or death, and in the future hopeless misery. The following graphic description is from the pen of Von Byler himself, and will show us the nature of the charge upon which these holy men were tried, and throw a gleam of light upon the mode of their procedings. a conflict between hope and fear! How pure, how tender, but how unearthly, the devotion of such a meeting! What a power of principle they would unfold! All the dignity of Christian manhood would be seen. They knew the power of suffering; they were prepared again to brave its fury, if necessary, for the truth. Imagination will realize more than this, as by an effort it tries to identify itself with this little band of Christian disciples. The hour of trial was at hand. "It happened," says a deeply interested witness of their subsequent sufferings, "on Easter, the 3rd of April, A.D. 1575,* that thirty anabaptists, of both sexes, had assembled together in a house near Alligator,t on the road leading to Spiegelzhof, for the purpose of mutual exhortation and prayer; but, being detected by the neighbours, they were nearly all taken then to prison, by so small a guard that some could easily have escaped, if they could have felt liberty of conscience to do so." Noble men! Even your mistakes proclaim your greatness. The names of five of them are preserved. They deserve to be remembered. They were, John Pieters, Henry Terwoort, Garret Von Byler, John Von Straaton, and Christian Kemels. From the custody of the sheriff they were soon transferred to the tender mercy of my lord of London. Their final examination was at the episcopal palace. Ignorant of their language, the bishop was assisted on this momentous occasion by a French and Dutch minister. Their reconciliation to the Dutch church, and the cure of their pestilential heresy, was the avowed end of this imposing procedure. The usual course was adopted here. Blandishment and • The sixteenth year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth -ED. † Aldsgate. Fuller, Church Hist. "When we came before the bishop, there were present, Master Joris,* James de Koninck, John de Rodemaker, two members of the council, and a French clergyman. We were placed before those lords, and their servants, who propounded four questions to us, to which we were to give either an affirmative or a negative. "1. Whether Christ did not assume his flesh from the body of Mary?' "We replied, 'That he is the Son of the living God.' "2. Whether infants should not be baptized?' "We cannot understand matters so, for we read nothing of it in the scriptures.' "Whether it was lawful for a Christian to attend to, or discharge the duties of, a magistrate's office?' "We replied, "That our conscience would not suffer us to do so; but we considered the magistracy as a minister of God, for the protection of the servants of God.' "4. Whether a Christian was allowed to take an oath ?' "We again replied, our conscience would not now allow us to do so, for Probably the minister of the Dutch church. Christ said, 'Let your communications | individuals. The whole of them, howbe yea, yea, nay, nay.' We then kept ever, in the course of two or three days, silent. The bishop said that our mis- returned to the prison, partly in order deeds were very gross, and we could not to acquit their bail, who were bound in inherit the kingdom of God. O! Lord, the sum of £100, and partly because avenge not! The bishop then remand- the bishop, as a man of honour, promised us to prison. A young brother who ed with an oath, that he would set them was first interrogated, boldly confessed all at liberty in the course of five or six the truth; and was on that account days if they would return; but if not, sorely accused, and led to Westminster, the rest should remain in prison till where he was imprisoned by himself. Candlemas." This caused us much grief." Some additional information may be gathered from an interesting letter written by a countryman of these persecuted saints, to his mother, then resident at Ghent. She was a woman of great piety, and had requested her son to supply her with all the information he could procure. His name was Somers, a resident in London, a member of the Dutch church there, and subsequently, on his return to his native land, raised to the highest honours of the state. "It is probable," he says, that I am better acquainted with the circumstances than the generality of people, inasmuch as I have had frequent intercourse with them, and have received information from all of them: so I cannot forbear giving such an account of it as accords with the extent of my information in reference to the matter. In connexion with which, I send you a copy of their confession; on account of which some died, and others are retained in prison." We have given this, that our readers may see the trustworthiness of his narrative. On their return from their examination to their place of confinement, Mr. Somers says, "That ten or twelve of them made their escape, as they were aware of the danger to which they were exposed, and perceived the fine opportunity of escape that presented itself; the guard consisted but of one or two The dreary solitude of their prisonhouse was soon disturbed by their officious opponents. Again and again they were visited by many Netherlanders, and twice they were summoned into the august presence of the London pontiff. To one of these visits the following extract refers,-" When we were all lodged in prison, came Master Joris, and said, if we would join the church he would set us at liberty-for these are the bishop's orders. But we contended valiantly for the truth in Christ Jesus-for he is our Captain and none else; upon him we put all our confidence."* These means, sooner or later to some extent, were successful. For soon" after this, five of the men were converted (through much disputation with these Netherlanders who belonged to the church) before they were condemned as heretics; nevertheless, they were placed before a rostrum in St. Paul's Churchyard, in a large assembly of some thousands of Englishmen, and a bundle of faggots was laid upon each one's shoulder, as a sign that they deserved to be burnt. In addition to which they inflicted many other injuries and ignominy upon them, though the bishop had promised that he would set them at liberty without any incumbrances if they would only sign the four articles; but the event proved the contrary. This transpired the 25th of May, A.D., 1575."+ * Benedict's History of the Baptists, pp. 313, 314, * Byler's Letter. + Somers's Letter. |