and its assemblies were attended by men, and women, and little children, not only of the town, but also of the villages four or five leagues around, who flocked thither from an eager desire to be instructed in the Word of God. Being for some time connived at by the magistrates, these assemblies were held the more frequently, and attracted a larger concourse of people.

Mrs. Oguier and her family were among the leading members of the reformed church in this place, and all of them adorned it by their exemplary Christian deportment. Their entire household establish ́ment was regulated as if a temple for the worship of God. They were pre-eminent in their zeal for the diffusion of the truth. They abounded, too, in works of charity; and being in good worldly circumstances, they possessed the means of gratifying their benevolent inclinations. They regularly attended the secret meetings held by the Reformers for prayer and the exposition of the Scriptures; and these meetings were often held in their house. For a short period this excellent family remained undisturbed, but in those perilous times the faithful stood in jeopardy every hour. The Dominicans, alarmed lest the whole town of Lisle should be infected with heresy, began to censure the magistrates from the pulpits for their slackness in enforcing the laws against heretics, and for conniving at conventicles. Thus incited by the monks and friars, the provost of the town, accompanied by his bailiffs, went armed through the houses of suspected persons, on Saturday, the 6th of March, 1556-7, between nine and ten o'clock in the evening. Rushing impetuously into the house of Mrs. Oguier, whose character, and the character of whose family were well known to them, they searched every part of it for prohibited books, some of which they found, and then carried away herself, her husband, and her two sons, Baldwin and Martin, to prison. While the prisoners were passing through the streets, Baldwin, who had been the chief object of the search, cried, with a loud voice, which was heard by numbers, "O Lord, not only to be prisoners for thee, but also give us grace boldly to confess thy holy doctrine before men, and that we may seal it by the ashes of our body for the edifi

cation of thy poor church." They were thrown into prison and rudely handled; but all of them praised God, who had accounted them worthy to suffer for his name's sake.

A few days after, they were brought before the magistrates of Lisle and examined. "We are informed," said the magistrates, "that you never go to mass, and that you hinder others from going to it. We are also informed that you keep conventicles in your house; and that in these erroneous doctrine is taught, contrary to the doctrines of our holy mother church; by all which you have contravened the statutes of his imperial majesty." The father, for himself and the rest, answered: "Honourable Sirs, you ask why we do not go to mass. The reason is because the precious blood of the Son of God and his oblation are thereby rendered void; and because Christ, by one offering, hath perfected them who are sanctified. Paul speaks of only one sacrifice (Heb. x. 14). Christ and his apostles celebrated the supper, in which all the Christian people communicated; but we do not read in the Holy Scriptures that they ever offered the sacrifice of the mass, or appointed it to be offered, or knew what it is. It has, therefore, no authority in the Word of God. It is the invention of men; and Christ has said, 'In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men' (Matt. xv. 9). Nor do we deny that we have held assemblies of good and pious people in our house; but these have been for the advancement of the glory of Jesus Christ, and have not been to the prejudice of the government. We know that the emperor has forbidden them, but we also know that Christ has commanded them. We could not, therefore, obey the one without disobeying the other, and we have preferred obeying God rather than man." One of the magistrates then asked the prisoners what was done at their conventicles. "With your lordship's permission," said Baldwin, the eldest son, "I will give you a full account of that matter;" and having obtained leave, he proceeded thus: "When we are come together in the name of the Lord, to hear his holy Word, we all fall at once down upon our knees, confess in humility of heart our sins before the Divine majesty, and earnestly beseech him that his

Word may be purely preached to us, and rightly understood by us. We also pray for our sovereign lord the emperor, and for all his council, that the commonwealth may be governed with peace, and│ to the glory of God. Nor are you, my lords, forgotten by us, as our immediate governors; we supplicate God for you and this whole city, that he would support you in what is good and just. Do thereyou, fore, still believe that our assembling together for these purposes can be so criminal as has been represented to you? As a proof of the truth of what I now state, I am ready, if you please, my lords, to recite these very prayers before you." Some of the judges having notified their assent, he immediately kneeled down before them, and poured forth a prayer with such fervency of spirit and vehement emotion, that it drew tears from the eyes of the judges. Having concluded, and standing up, "These," said he, "are the things which pass in our meetings."

These four confessors were afterwards put to the rack, to extort from them a discovery of those who frequented their meetings; but they completely baffled their inquisitors, refusing, under the extremity of the torture, to reveal the names of any of their brethren, excepting some who were already known, or who had made their escape.

Four or five days after, the father and the eldest son, Baldwin, were adjudged to the flames, which they endured with unshrinking courage. The two martyrs were heard conversing together in the midst of the flames, even when they were at the highest; and the son, as long as he had strength to speak, was observed to encourage his father.

The condemnation of Mrs. Oguier, and of her son, Martin, was deferred, probably in the hope that she, being a woman, and that her youngest son, from his youth, might be brought to recant. The more effectually to produce this result, they were separated from each other, and harassed by the monks, with incessant exhortations, to repent and return to the bosom of the Romish Church. Like his father and brother, Martin was not to be trepanned into a compromise of his principles, even by the prospect of saving his life. He

was, however, afraid that his mother, plied by ceaseless importunities, might, from the dread of an appalling death, be driven to renounce with the mouth those truths which she continued to believe with the heart. His fears were too truly realized. By promises and threatenings she at last yielded; and the monks, who had been unsuccessful in their efforts to shake the constancy of her son, even prevailed upon her to use her influence to induce him to abjure his errors, and return to the path of truth, as they expressed it. This her enemies accounted a great victory, of which they loudly boasted; and her Christian friends, on hearing the rumour of her falling courage, were deeply grieved. The former had not long cause to exult, nor the latter to grieve. Love to the truth all the while burned in her breast, and an affectionate appeal to her heart fanned it into a flame, raising her superior to torture and death. Her son, when admitted to see her, on discovering that she had fallen from her steadfastness, and that she began to advise him to follow her example, cried out, weeping, "O, my mother, what have you done? Have you denied the Son of God who redeemed you? Alas! what has he done to you, that you should so injure and dishonour him? Now is that misfortune befallen me which I most dreaded. O my God! why have I lived to the present moment, to witness what pierces to my inmost soul?" This at once recovered her from the shock she had received. The words and tears of a son who was in every respect so dear to her, went to her heart, and, ashamed of her pusillanimity, she burst into tears, acknowledged with unfeigned sorrow her apostasy, and besought forgiveness from God. "Good God!" she cried, "have mercy upon me, hide my transgressions under the righteousness of thy Son, and grant me strength to abide by my first confession, and confirm me in it to the last breath of my life." That, yielding to natural feeling, her constancy in the day of trial should for a moment have failed, the more especially as she was precluded from all intercourse with her friends, need not excite our surprise. The terror of the stake has shaken the resolution of the stoutest hearts; and yet when we see them, by trusting more to that strength which is made

perfect in weakness, recovering themselves from depressing terrors, and submitting to the utmost that men can inflict upon them, with a courage rendered only the more determined from their having

stumbled and fallen, it would be to violate every generous feeling of our nature harshly to censure the temporary irresolution into which they have been hurried, in circumstances so difficult and trying.

Soon again the monks visited Mrs. Oguier, expecting to find her in the same state of mind into which they had brought her. But immediately as they entered her cell, she addressed them, "Depart, ye messengers of Satan, for you have no more share in me; I wish to subscribe my first confession, and if I cannot do it with ink, it shall be done with my blood." In vain did they now promise to spare her life as the reward of recantation; in vain did they hold