to her royal brother of Denmark, informing him that although Coverdale was bound to pay certain sums of money, she much more valued the gratification of his majesty's desire, and would therefore cancel the obligation. Coverdale received a passport in February, and soon reached the shores of Denmark.*

To use the words of Canon Westcott, "Tyndale, who gave us our first New Testament from the Greek, was strangled for his work at Vilvorde: Coverdale, who gave us our first printed Bible, narrowly escaped the stake by exile: Rogers, to whom we owe the newly formed basis of our present version, was the first victim of the Marian persecution: Cranmer, who has left us our Psalter, was at last blessed with a death of triumphant agony. The work was crowned by martyrdom, and the workmen laboured at it in the faith and with the love of martyrs." +

The Princess Elizabeth, in those dark days, lived at Woodstock, where she was kept in restraint, and whilst there, surrounded by sylvan scenes, she wrote in her New Testament the following quaint passage: "I walk many times into the pleasant fields of Holy Scriptures, where I pluck up goodly sentences by pruning, eat them by reading, chew them by musing, and lay them up at length in the high seat of memory; that, having tasted their sweetness, I may the less perceive the bitterness of this miserable life." And in ranks of society far below that of this royal lady, many there were who loved their Bibles, and, in spite of persecution, studied the sacred volume. Individuals in secret would pore over Tyndale's Testament, and imbibe the martyr's spirit from the same source whence that + History of English Bible, p. 371. Weston's Life of Sir T. Pope, p. 71.

* Foxe, vol. vi. p. 706.

heroic man drank in his. The book was prized, concealed, and preserved for posterity.

66 Fierce whiskered guards that volume sought in vain,
Enjoyed by stealth, and hid with anxious pain;
While all around was misery and gloom,

This showed the boundless bliss beyond the tomb.
Freed from the venal priest-the feudal rod,

It led the weary sufferer's steps to God;
And when his painful course on earth was run,
This, his chief wealth, descended to his son."

Nor were little congregations wanting, who here and there, in houses and fields, secretly gathered together to hear the reading of the Word. One, at Islington, is specially noticed by Foxe; and on the graphic pages of the Protestant chronicler we have a vivid picture of a pious band on the borders of St. John's Wood, on the morning of May-day, when, as their neighbours were busy with rural games, and were dancing round the pole on the village green, they were employed in listening to the Scriptures read by one of their number, and worshipping with primitive simplicity the Father of spirits; till the constables, with their bills, approached the circle sitting under the trees, and commanded them to follow, upon which they were led to the magistrate's house, and most of them committed to prison. Soon after, thirteen of the number were consigned to the flames on charges of heresy.* On reading the examinations of these confessors and martyrs, one is forcibly struck with their intelligent views of religion, their extensive acquaintance with theology derived from the study of the Bible, their remembrance of Scripture texts, and their sagacity in meeting the objections of persecutors. Often were the learned doctors of Rome overcome in controversy with

* Foxe, vol. viii. p. 468.

these simple-hearted persons, who had no learning but what they had derived from the oracles of inspired wisdom. It was shown that a sound and thorough knowledge of the Bible is more than a match for sophistries on the side of And the patience, constancy, and joy of these Bibletaught martyrs demonstrated the soul-sustaining power of Bible truths, and read a lesson for all generations, directing us to the study of Scripture as the secret of spiritual strength, hope, and consolation.

error.

ENEVA is a name symbolical of the Reformation. It stands opposed to Rome, which embodies the idea of papal despotism. The far-famed city on the shores of Lake Leman was the home of Calvin and Beza. There they studied, preached, and sent forth their writings, rendering the city a source of light, whose rays, scattered far and wide, pierced the darkness of Europe. Many eyes were turned to that spot in the middle of the sixteenth century; many

sought instruction from the master spirits there.

Intimately is Geneva connected with the history of our English Bible. To exiles there located was England indebted for the most popular translation in the sixteenth century, next to the work of Tyndale. A band of men, first driven from their own country by persecution, which led them to Frankfort, and then, differing from brethren there, settled in Geneva, to worship God with Puritan simplicity, according to the dictates of their conscience.